Contractor charged with leaking NSA document
By
Nick Wakeman
An NSA contractor has been charged with leaking a classified document describing how the Russians tried to hack a firm that supported state voting agencies.
A contractor working for the National Security Agency has been arrested for leaking classified documents to a news outlet that describe Russian hacking of election software.
Reality Leigh Winner worked for the Alexandria, Va.-based contractor Pluribus International, according to a CNN report.
The Washington Post reported that Winner is accused of emailing an NSA document to the website the Intercept, which posted a redacted version of the document.
The Intercept used the document as the basis for an article that describes the Russian military’s efforts to hack a firm that supports state voting agencies.
Winner is an Air Force veteran who served from January 2013 until February of this year, when she began working for Pluribus at a government facility in Georgia. She had a top secret security clearance, according to the Post.
The FBI began investigating Winner less than a week ago after they learned the Intercept had the classified document. The website had reached out to another contractor for comment and that person contacted authorities, the Post said.
When interviewed by the FBI, Winner admitted to printing the document and mailing it to the Intercept.
She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted, according to CNN.