The Biden adminstration is scrambling to assess and dealing with the fallout from a major leak of classified Pentagon douments. It is not the first to hear that there is classified information leak in the Biden adminstration. However, this time will be much more serious.
The highly sensitive documents which include details about how the US spies on allies and adversaries appeared online last month on the social media platform Discord. The posts are photos of sensitive documentns laid on top of magazines and surrounded by other random objects. Those document all bore classified markings, some top secret – the highest level of classification. Those 53 leaked documents seem to be produced between mid-February and early March. A representative from the social media Discord confirmed that their team is cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation.
One document reveals that the US intelligence has been spying on Ukrainian Presisdent Volodymyr Zelensky. Ukrainian officials are deeply frustrated about the leak even Zelensky adminstration is not surprised about it.
Another remarkable reveal will be the conversation between two senior South Korean national security officials over a US request for ammunition. The details of the communication was about Korean officials worried that supplying the ammunition, which the US would then send to Ukraine, would violate South Korea’s policy of not supplying lethal aid to countries at war. The documents also show the one of the officals suggested a way of getting around the policy without actually changing it – by selling the ammunition to Poland. The details of the document has sparked controversy in Seoul.
Another controversial intelligence reoprt is related to Isreal. The report which produced by the CIA said that Isreal’s main intelligence agency has been encouraging protests agains the country’s new government.
US allies are doing damage assessments to determine whether any of their own sources and methods have been compromised by the leak. The leak was frustrating and harmful to the US reputation. To date, key allies have not yet been given a briefing by the US on where they are on the damage assessment or efforts to identify the leakers.
Tech Tensions between China and the US escalates after US allies in Asia and Europe annountced restrictions on the sale of key technology to China. The Cyberspace Administration of China (ACA) has launched a probe into once of the America’s biggest memory chip makers, Micron Technogogy because of the cybersecury concerns. This action is perceived as an apparent retaliation.
The move of China come on the same day that Japan government said that it would restrict the export of advanced chip manufacturing equipment to China to curb China’s semiconductot industry, following the similar moves by the US and other allies.
ACA stated that the aim of this move is to targeting on “ensuring the security of key information infrastructure supply chains, preventing cybersecurity risks caused by hidden products problems, and maintaining national security.”
Micron Technology told CNN it was aware of the review from China authority and they are in communication with the CAC and are cooperating fully. Mircon derives more than 10% of its revenue from China. Its shares sank 4.4 % on Wall Street on Friday and closed another 1.2% lower on Monday following the news.
