When it comes to Wikileaks ... just say no

by Tony Beltran

When it comes to Wikileaks ... just say no

Mr. Tony Beltran
JTF Guantanamo Operations Security Program Manager

WikiLeaks is a hot topic in the news lately with near wall-to-wall coverage on all the major news outlets. The Joint Task Force Detention Group, JTF Guantanamo and its detainees are also frequent targets of WikiLeaks information releases.

According to a Wikipedia citation, “WikiLeaks is an international new media non-profit organization that publishes submissions of otherwise unavailable documents from anonymous news sources and news leaks.”

The Department of Defense has officially condemned the site, issuing guidance to all military members, federal employees and contractors about accessing WikiLeaks and the released information. So what does this mean for our troopers and operations here in JTF Guantanamo?

Defense Department officials are directing military, civilian and contractor personnel not to not the WikiLeaks web site. Official DoD guidance states WikiLeaks information is potentially classified. Unauthorized access to the site runs the risk of introducing classified material to unclassified systems.

Despite rumors and speculation, information released by the WikiLeaks website still requires handling appropriate to its classification. The subject information was not “declassified” by an appropriate authority and therefore requires continued safeguarding by federal employees.

“Classified information, whether or not already posted on public websites or disclosed to the media, remains classified,” warn DoD officials. “(It) must be treated as such by federal employees and contractors, until it is declassified by an appropriate U.S. government authority.”

In addition to the guidance provided by the DoD, agencies around JTF Guantanamo also have specific ways of handling cases regarding troopers accessing the WikiLeaks website.

“All personnel assigned to JTF-Guantanamo are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement which defines the requirements of protecting classified material, whether written or stated,” cautioned JTF Guantanamo alternate security manager, Paige Durrett. “Any violation of this agreement will result in possible jail time, cash penalty and loss of security clearance.”

Military members could also face disciplinary actions under Article 92 of the UCMJ if they access or download data from WikiLeaks, said Navy Lt. Gilbert Saenz of the Staff Judge Advocates office.

“In addition, we will conduct an inquiry to determine the extent of the situation and what other possible UCMJ violations may have occurred,” Saenz said.

The documents being released all fall under the category of ‘sensitive information’ — even if they are not classified — and therefore should be given the same protection as other data protected using operations security. The ‘need to know’ principle should be used. Not only is it a violation of UCMJ and policy, it’s just common sense.

The bottom line — do not access Wikileaks from any personal, government or MWR computer.