Letters to the Editor: How to stop low-level IT workers from leaking national security secrets

To the editor: There are two important aspects of security not mentioned in the op-ed article “How could a 21-year-old leak national security data without the Pentagon knowing?”

First, there are too many items that are classified, which leads to a lack of resources for protecting information that is truly important. Experts have estimated that up to 90% of documents that are classified do not need to be.

Second is the lack of layering. In the case of the latest leak allegedly by 21-year-old Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira and the infamous case of Edward Snowden, both were perpetrated by low-level information technology personnel who were given access to work on the physical computers the data were on.

Just encrypting the data on the computers would have seriously hindered the leaks, because the IT personnel would not have had an idea of what files were worth copying.

Furthermore, having those IT people supervised by higher-level personnel to make sure nothing illicit could take place would help. How likely would leaks by an IT person be with both those layers in place?

Michael Lampel, Granada Hills

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To the editor: A solution to addressing the unauthorized release of classified information may rest in the “two-man rule,” currently used to protect, for instance, nuclear weapons.

Requiring the sign-off of a second knowledgeable person for top-secret access might be costly and burdensome. But when weighed against the cost of these leaks — and yes, the cost of granting a clearance to a 21-year-old service member in the first place — it might be a bargain.

Trish Kelly, Corona

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To the editor: Nicholas Goldberg’s op-ed column on whistleblowers committed an offense by even mentioning Daniel Ellsberg and Edward Snowden in the same sentence.

Ellsberg revealed lies about illegal actions in the Vietnam War. He turned himself in to face the legal consequences, because he thought it was worth it.

Snowden revealed what anyone who reads the Congressional Record could have realized if they assumed the National Security Agency was doing what we told them to do. Then he turned tail with stolen intelligence and fled, ultimately to Russia. He still refuses to face the consequences, presumably because he thinks it’s not worth it.

Mentioning Aldrich Ames and Snowden in the same sentence was appropriate, however; both were self-serving. Ellsberg is a true patriot.

Dave Suess, Redondo Beach