No matter which way we view it, the fact that a 21-year-old air force enlisted man at Ft. Bragg was able to post highly classified information in a chat group devoted to gaming, is very outrageous. As a business ethics keynote speaker, business ethics consultant and ethics book author, it reminds me of serious scandals I have recently encountered in the general business community. The young man, entrusted with some of our nation’s most valuable secrets, was not a spy or profiteer, but a total fool who was out to impress his pals.
The J2 Intelligence Daily
Allegedly, the secrets on the Ukraine counter-offensive plans and Taiwan defense issues were part of a daily briefing document known as the “J2 Intelligence Daily.” The U.S. National Guardsman, Jack Teixeira, accessed documents through the secured internet of the combined U.S. intelligence agencies.
It is, apparently, easy to leak such information. It has been estimated that our country doles out top security clearances to more than 1.3 million people and approximately 100,000 of those souls are within the intelligence community. The J2 Intelligence Daily can be accessed by 10,000, 20,000 or more of those individuals, making it sound more like the Daily News.
Naturally, each one of the individuals I mentioned has friends and family. While most are responsible (we hope), some like this 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard member, barely out of high school have access to documents that could easily compromise national security, not to mention horrific loss of life.
As the intelligence community has dramatically grown over the years, it appears the community has lost its center. What I mean by that, in a business ethics sense, is that there is an all too apparent loss of control. When that happens, it should be cause for great worry.
As a business ethics keynote speaker, business ethics consultant and ethics book author, I wonder how our government will handle this “over-classification” issue in the future? In other words, what can be done to
It leads to your organization
If our government, with all its supposed checks and balances, allows a low-level enlisted man to potentially and carelessly breach the security of several nations, what about the tens of thousands of businesses and associations with untrained employees?
For fraud to exist, basically three elements need to come together. They are an opportunity, a need and a rationalization. The first thing to be established is that the need doesn’t have to be about money. It can include bragging rights (such as with U.S. National Guardsman, Jack Teixeira) or a bid for power or even to curry favor with a potential employer or the media.
The opportunity to commit this type of fraud can be intentional or unintentional. Every time a new employee is hired, or in training sessions or in seminars, employees are warned in regard to opening suspicious emails or links or sending unauthorized images or recordings or other unsecured pieces of information. And every day, it seems, there are HIPAA violations, unauthorized financial disclosures, the release of corporate or financial information such as credit card information.
I am sure that in an ethical sense, National Guardsman, Jack Teixeira thought it was harmless fun. Perhaps he was trying to impress someone in his gaming chat room as to how cool he was, or sexy or irreverent or fun.
In your organization, who has access to important information and how well trained are they in safeguarding information? Whether a real estate agent inadvertently is sharing financial information over the internet while sipping a latte in a coffee shop or an employee who gardens petunias opens a link sent by an unknown flower society, it is all serious business.
National Guardsman, Jack Teixeira will most possibly be looking at a jail term. It would not be inappropriate to do so. However, that should not be the main focus. My question as a business ethics keynote speaker, business ethics consultant and ethics book author, is why did he have access in the first place?
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS!
