State secrets are not sufficiently protected. Neither in the weakest countries nor in the main powers of the world. The recent publication of government documents by a member of the US National Guard demonstrates this. Experts admit that authorities now face a dire choice: either take drastic measures to prevent leaks, or openly share information that, until recently, had been kept hidden.
Analysts insist that even the most prosperous nations are not investing adequately in this field. Data leak prevention is expensive. Very expensive. And, in general, administrations invest more in new espionage techniques than in stopping illegitimate interference. So it could be said that intelligence services are often not as smart as people think.
In any case, giants like the United States spend billions on cybersecurity. However, this investment is clearly oriented towards its direct competitors, mainly China and Russia. The attention paid to the staff working in its multiple offices is minimal, despite the fact that experience proves that these collaborators have been the cause of most of its major problems. Actually, throughout history, it has always been that way.
The examples are well known: Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, Reality Winner... From the alleged actions of Jack Teixeria, identified as the main suspect for posting hundreds of Pentagon documents on the Internet, they have detected a pattern: contractors or members of the forces Armed forces that do not usually reach thirty and that are not part of the most sensitive agencies in this field, such as the CIA or the NSA.
When one of these scandals reaches public opinion, the rulers tend to restrict access to these materials. The current Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, has admitted the difficulty of fighting "overqualification", since the greater the number of files locked, the more difficult it is to manage them properly. Her theory has aroused as many critics as supporters.
The adviser to the Center for Strategic and International Studies Glenn Gerstell, who previously worked for the National Security Agency, is optimistic because he believes that both administrations and private companies have "appropriate solutions" for current threats and the challenges of the future. future.
