The FBI arrested a 25-year-old NSA contractor on Sat (3rd June) for leaking classified information to an online tidings outlet which published its written report yesterday (5th June) — pregnant the arrest was made 2 days earlier the actual disclosure went online.
Reality Leigh Winner, who held a top-secret safety clearance in addition to worked every bit a authorities contractor inwards Georgia alongside Pluribus International, was arrested from her abode inwards Augusta on charges involving the leak of top-secret NSA files to 'The Intercept,' an online publication that has been publishing NSA documents leaked past times Edward Snowden since 2014.
The Intercept published a written report on Monday, fifth June, based upon a classified document it received anonymously, which claims inwards August 2016, Russia's armed forces intelligence way "executed a cyber assault on at to the lowest degree i U.S. voting software supplier in addition to sent spear-phishing emails to to a greater extent than than 100 local election officials days earlier [the] election."
The NSA document (dated May 5, 2017) argues that hackers, believed to endure associated alongside the Russian General Main Staff Intelligence Directorate (GRU), had attempted to intermission into VR Systems, a Florida fellowship that sells voting registration equipment used inwards the 2016 U.S.A. presidential election.
This is what the NSA document alleges almost the Russian hacking into U.S. voting systems:
"Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate actors … executed cyber espionage operations against a named U.S. fellowship inwards August 2016, patently to obtain information on elections-related software in addition to hardware solutions. … The actors probable used information obtained from that functioning to … launch a voter registration-themed spear-phishing drive targeting U.S. local authorities organizations."
How FBI Caught the NSA Leaker, Reality Winner?
So, how the federal authorities identified that Winner was the i behind the leak?
The federal officials began their investigation later The Intercept contacted the NSA on May xxx in addition to turned over a re-create of the written report to verify the authenticity of that document spell bespeak for comment earlier publishing its report.
Winner did non ship service the actual document (pdf) straight to The Intercept; instead, she took prints of the document in addition to thence emailed a scanned copy of it to the publication.
But, unfortunately, it seems similar Winner was non aware of the fact "that most novel printers impress nearly invisibly xanthous dots that rail downwards just when in addition to where documents, whatsoever document, is printed," Robert Graham of published a written report on Monday, fifth June, based upon a classified document it received anonymously, which claims inwards August 2016, Russia's armed forces intelligence way "executed a cyber assault on at to the lowest degree i U.S. voting software supplier in addition to sent spear-phishing emails to to a greater extent than than 100 local election officials days earlier [the] election."
The NSA document (dated May 5, 2017) argues that hackers, believed to endure associated alongside the Russian General Main Staff Intelligence Directorate (GRU), had attempted to intermission into VR Systems, a Florida fellowship that sells voting registration equipment used inwards the Errata Security said, explaining how the way identified the leaker.
Graham explains step-by-step that how anyone tin sack analyze the scanned re-create of whatsoever printed document to recollect secretly stored information, which inwards this instance revealed:
"The document leaked past times the Intercept was from a printer alongside model issue 54, series issue 29535218. The document was printed on May 9, 2017, at 6:20. The NSA almost sure has a tape of who used the printer at that time."Since the NSA logs all printing jobs on its printers, the NSA determined that alone half dozen employees had access to that document in addition to that Winner was the someone who printed in addition to removed the document from a secure facility.
Winner also allegedly "acknowledged that she was aware of the contents of the intelligence reporting in addition to that she knew the contents of the reporting could endure used to the injury of the U.S.A. in addition to the payoff of a unusual nation," read criminal complaint [PDF] released past times the DoJ on Monday.
"Exceptional police enforcement efforts allowed us chop-chop to position in addition to arrest the defendant," said Deputy Attorney Gen. Rod J. Rosenstein. "Releasing classified textile without potency threatens our nation's safety in addition to undermines world faith inwards government. People who are trusted alongside classified information in addition to pledge to protect it must endure held accountable when they violate that obligation."Winner is facing a count of "gathering, transmitting or losing defense forcefulness information," in addition to upwards to 10 years behind bars if she is convicted.
