NSA Leaker Came From Massive Intelligence Contractor

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June 10, 2013

The latest national security leak comes not from a government employee, but from one of the many contractors now hired to run parts of our national security state, according to an article in The New York Times.

Edward Snowden, the man responsible for leaking highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA), worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, a major government contractor. Booz Allen and a handful of other contractors provide much of the workforce for national security agencies including the NSA and the Department of Defense.

This increasing reliance on contractors means contractors are even responsible for granting government security clearances to other contractors.

The story quoted POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian on this growing phenomenon.

“The national security apparatus has been more and more privatized and turned over to contractors. This is something the public is largely unaware of, how more than a million private contractors are cleared to handle highly sensitive matters.”

Read more at The New York Times.

Image from the National Security Agency.

Topics: Contract Oversight

Related Content: Government Privatization

Authors: Andre Francisco

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