Monday, April 17, 2000

Navy confirms classified data was mishandled

Two diskettes containing secret data found aboard Japanese ship, Navy memo says

By Steve Liewer
Yokosuka bureau chief

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan - Two computer diskettes containing secret data intended only for American eyes were found aboard a Japanese navy ship in December, according to an unclassified Navy memorandum.

A U.S. Navy senior chief petty officer discovered the two diskettes in the pocket of a briefcase Dec. 14, the memo said. The briefcase had been kept in an office for eight days aboard the JDS Kongo, an Aegis-class destroyer belonging to the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force during a joint exercise with the USS Vincennes.

One of the diskettes was classified "Secret/NOFORN," which means no one from a foreign country - even a friendly one, such as Japan - is allowed to see it.

In response to questions from Stars and Stripes on the apparent security breach described in the Navy memo, George Dunn, a spokesman for Aegis Training and Readiness Center command in Dahlgren, Va., declined to comment at length on the apparent security breach but acknowledged classified data had been mishandled.

"A recent incident involving the improper handling of classified material by some members of the Aegis Training and Readiness Center detachment in Yokosuka, Japan, has been investigated," Dunn said in a statement.

Dunn said investigators found that "while proper procedures for the handling of classified material were not followed, no classified material was compromised."

Dunn would not discuss whether the sailors involved had been disciplined. But, he said, "Appropriate action was taken to address individual accountability."

The Navy memo indicated the mishandling began almost a month earlier.

On Nov. 15, an electronics warfare chief petty officer had carried the briefcase, including the classified diskettes, from the Aegis Training and Readiness Center office in Yokosuka to the Vincennes.

Three days later, the chief petty officer left Japan because of a family emergency. He turned over the briefcase, including the secret diskettes, to his supervisor, a senior chief petty officer. The senior chief then asked a petty officer first class to gather all classified information and return it to a vault, according to the memo.

The sailor did transfer other classified data from the briefcase into a safe, but apparently overlooked the diskettes stored in an inside pocket. On Nov. 28, another petty officer first class from ATRC packed radios in the bag, and took the case on a commercial flight from Tokyo to Sasebo Naval Base, Japan, for a joint exercise with the Kongo.

Still unaware he was carrying classified information, the sailor left the case in a Lockheed Martin Aegis support facility at Sasebo until Dec. 6, then in an office aboard the Kongo. Eight days later, a senior chief petty officer - the same one who ordered the case secured in the first place - discovered the diskettes. He turned them over to an officer, who returned them to Yokosuka.

The memo concluded it was doubtful any unauthorized person had seen the material.

"Based on experiences with JMSDF, ATRC (Detachment) and Lockheed Martin, a professional respective atmosphere is always maintained and therefore (it is) highly unlikely that this material was discovered. However, a possible compromise of data cannot be discounted as material was uncontrolled aboard a foreign vessel," the memo said.

The memo acknowledged "mitigating circumstances," and blamed the security breach on a communications breakdown among the three sailors.

"An aggressive pursuit of these (classified) items failed to occur because key players believed that they had carried out their duty," the memo said.

The undated memo from the ATRC detachment in Yokosuka was addressed to ATRC headquarters in Virginia.

Two naval officers who have seen the memo and requested anonymity said it appeared the mishandling didn't seem serious because it apparently was unintentional, there's little chance the data was seen by unauthorized persons, and the unsecured diskettes were aboard a ship belonging to a friendly navy.