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Lab director orders actions in response to security incident

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., June 13, 2000 - Los Alamos National Laboratory Director John Browne is taking a wide range of actions in response to the two hard drives containing classified information missing from the Department of Energy laboratory.

These actions result from the Laboratory's inquiry into the incident. A separate joint Department of Energy/Federal Bureau of Investigation inquiry is underway.

Efforts continue to locate the missing media or to determine if they were inadvertently destroyed.

The actions, developed in consultation with the University of California, include an assessment of the integrity of areas where classified information is stored, evaluation of procedures for handling classified information and a review of physical access to areas in which classified programs are conducted.

"This incident is a serious security matter and extremely disturbing and disappointing to me both professionally and personally," Browne said. "The Laboratory has made great strides in improving our security program and those improvements have been validated in exhaustive DOE and outside audits. I am asking our employees to renew their personal commitment to security and to reexamine their performance in light of lessons learned from this incident.

"As an institution, we are responsible for continually evaluating and strengthening our security systems to make them as effective as possible," Browne continued. "As individuals we are all responsible for adhering to the requirements of those security systems and the basic tenets of security."

In addition, UC, which manages Los Alamos, will conduct a separate, independent review focused on laboratory management performance and practices related to this incident. The review will determine how well Los Alamos has carried out its management responsibilities, from the Laboratory director to the group and program managers.

Among the actions ordered by Browne are:

Additional actions are being developed and implemented.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy.