Sensitive Document Posted on Government Website Reveals Serious Security Flaws

The Mark Center, an office complex in the metro area where the Defense Department is relocating 6,400 employees to, may be vulnerable to large truck bombs, according to a letter the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) sent to Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week.

Out of an abundance of caution, POGO did not post the letter on its website or make it publicly available. POGO based much of its analysis of the vulnerability on a “For Official Use Only” document posted on the Army Corps of Engineers website that details the Mark Center’s ability to withstand a 220-pound bomb threat. POGO decided to send this release out after Reuters ran a story this morning entitled “Anti-bomb plan for Pentagon annex posted online” that says government officials admit the posting of the document “is a major breach of security.”

“This should be a wake-up call to the Pentagon,” said Peter Stockton, POGO senior investigator. “We hope they address the concerns outlined in our letter.”

POGO does not plan to make its letter publicly available.