The Patriot Post® · DHS Has Its Own Problem With Classified Intel 'Spills'

The Department of Homeland Security, set up after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, “suffered over 100 ‘spills’ of classified information last year” and potentially put national security at risk, according to Bloomberg View columnist Josh Rogin. A spill is defined by one DHS official as “the accidental, inadvertent, or intentional introduction of classified information into an unclassified information technology system, or higher-level classified information into a lower-level classified information technology system, to include non-government systems.” Rogin says, “Examples include: using a copier not approved for the level of classified information copied; failing to properly mark a classified product; transmitting classified information on an unclassified system like Gmail; or sending classified information to someone who, while having the proper level of clearance, is not authorized to read a section of information sent to them, the official said.” Gee, that sounds awfully familiar (more on that below).

The Office of Intelligence and Analysis deserves most of the blame, as 40% of the spills originated from it. And while spills aren’t unprecedented — we are humans, after all — the concern is more over what appears to be lax DHS enforcement. Moreover, Rogin adds, “[T]he numbers of classified spills … only represents those incidents that were officially reported, and the actual number is much higher.” Federation of American Scientists’ Steven Aftergood explains the implications: “If they have a reputation as a shop with unreliable security, other agencies are going to think twice about sharing their most valuable information with Homeland Security. It can hurt other agencies and it can rebound on them. It’s bad all around and should be corrected.”

Rogin says “there is a history of carelessness with e-mail at the department,” which is rather ironic. Recall that as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton used a private email server through which to send a whopping 2,000 classified emails, according to the latest count. But there is one important distinction: The agency’s spills appear to be from pure negligence; Clinton’s using a private email server to send classified material (regardless of when it was marked classified) was done purposefully. It was also potentially criminal. Under a Clinton presidency, one could argue, quite disconcertingly, that DHS is actually doing a pretty good job.