The government may rethink the amount of access given to private-sector companies. NSA leak exposes cracks in system

The man who stepped forward to say that he leaked this week’s bombshell national security documents is a 29-year-old computer technician who never finished high school and washed out of his Army training.

So how did a guy like that get access to America’s most sensitive secrets?


Edward Snowden, who asked Britain’s Guardian newspaper to identify him as its source for its explosive reports about government monitoring and U.S. cyberstrategy, was one of hundreds of thousands of private-sector workers supporting the intelligence community, Defense Department and other vital agencies.

( Also on POLITICO: Leak investigations so far: Just a warm-up)

It’s a population so huge that no one, including the leaders of the Pentagon and the intelligence community, knows exactly how big it is. But given its scope and diversity, from people scooping chow in Afghanistan to handling the country’s most vital secrets, there are countless cracks through which information can escape.

Sunday’s revelation could make government leaders rethink the access now given to the private-sector companies that are inextricably tied to the functions of the intelligence and defense agencies. Obviously, leaks can come from inside the government too, as Washington learned when a young Army private named Bradley Manning grew disenchanted with the war he saw from his post in Iraq. But for now, The Guardian’s reporting puts contractors under a new microscope.

In one sense, Snowden is clearly unique, described as an intelligence worker who was so revolted by the surveillance apparatus he helped operate that he opted to face prosecution and flee into exile in order to expose it. Based on his account, his IT prowess seems to have overcome his incomplete formal education — which he told The Guardian amounted to a GED — and enabled him to achieve what he called “privileged access” working for the CIA and the National Security Agency.

( PHOTOS: 10 famous/infamous whistleblowers)

Running the spy agencies’ computer infrastructure meant Snowden was, as he put it, “seeing everything,” in a way that many others in his position might not have.

Just the same, he could also be one of any number of the highly paid, white-collar “knowledge workers” in taupe cubicles throughout Virginia’s Fairfax County suburbs near the CIA, or along the Baltimore-Washington Parkway that runs past the Fort Meade headquarters of the NSA. Many of them were officers in the agencies for which they went on to consult — or in the case of the defense world, former generals or service members who crossed into a world of better pay, civilian attire and much less danger.

( Also on POLITICO: Reporters say there’s a chill in the air)

By keeping the high-level clearances they earned as government workers, employees like Snowden save their new employers the thousands of dollars it would otherwise cost to screen them.

The relationship between the secret arms of government and its vendors has become so institutionalized there’s even a special jobs board, ClearanceJobs.com, that posts nothing but opportunities for workers with the right kind of credentials. On Sunday evening, two of its postings for software engineers cited the location of the work as “Ft Meade, MD.”

One of the biggest questions in the wake of Snowden’s revelations is whether his decision to divulge some of what intelligence officials called America’s most precious secrets will change the relationship between federal agencies and their vendors.

Stewart Baker, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson and a former assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security, said Snowden’s actions could well have ripple effects on both sides of the public-private world of national security.

“I have no doubt this is going to produce some soul-searching about how many contractors the intelligence community has and what they have access to, and how much vetting is done on the employees,” he said.

Baker, however, cautioned the latest developments wouldn’t necessarily result in less contracting, partly because of the government’s talent needs in a constrained budget environment.

Although contractors often make much more than their government counterparts, their status off the books of the federal workforce can amount to a long-term “savings” for agencies because the contractors don’t get the same benefits. It’s also theoretically easier for the government to cut ties with contractors than it is to try to lay off federal workers, but the true costs and benefits of the relationship can vary widely.

Swowden’s employer, consulting powerhouse Booz Allen Hamilton, slammed the leak and made clear that the company would support the investigation opened by the Justice Department.

“News reports that this individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are shocking, and if accurate, this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm,” the company said. “We will work closely with our clients and authorities in their investigation of this matter.”

Booz Allen said Snowden had worked for “a team in Hawaii” and been an employee for less than three months. Snowden told The Guardian that he was previously a soldier in “a training program to join the Special Forces.”

The Army said Monday morning that its records show Snowden enlisted in the Army Reserve as a Special Forces recruit on May 7, 2004, “but was discharged 28 September, 2004. He did not complete any training or receive any awards,” according to an Army spokesman. The Army did not explain why his service terminated so quickly, but Snowden told the Guardian he’d hurt himself.

Defense officials have complained about security risks involved with their close industry ties, but previously their biggest worry was Chinese hacking, as opposed to the danger of leaks. For example, Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, the head of the F-35 Lightning II program, told a Senate panel earlier this year that he was confident about the cyberdefenses inside the Defense Department, but not those of his “industry partners.”

“We have a robust, layered system in place” inside DOD, Bogdan said, but “I am not that confident outside the department.”

Stephanie Gaskell contributed to this report.