Like a sieve

Recent disclosures of classified or sensitive information:

November 1999 — The National Security Agency tells Congress that 40

disclosures took place in 1998 and 34 during the first nine months of 1999.

December 1999 — The Washington Times cites a classified Defense Intelligence

Agency document on Chinese missile programs; a Federal Computer Week report

cites a classified NSA reorganization document.

April 2000 — CIA documents on covert actions in Iran during the 1950s

are leaked to The New York Times, which posts the documents on its Web site.

However, digital "blackout" marks used to hide agents' names do not work,

and the Times removes the documents from the site.

May — A secret Justice Department and FBI document called the "National

Security List," which highlights the countries that pose the biggest threat

to U.S. security, is reportedly leaked to The Washington Times and later

posted on the Internet.

June — Two reports in The Washington Times cite classified NSA documents

on Chinese missile programs.

July — A CIA intelligence overview briefing containing sensitive budget

information, details on "hard target" countries of interest and the names

of hundreds of Japanese security officials is leaked to the Cryptome Web

site.