DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Airman Who Leaked Files Is Indicted on Charges of Mishandling Secrets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman who posted dozens of secret intelligence reports and other sensitive documents on a social media server, on six counts of retaining and transmitting classified national defense information. The filing of criminal charges in Boston federal court against Airman Teixeira, 21, comes about two months after F.B.I. But it was not immediately clear how many of the vaguely described incidents that underlie the charges had been previously disclosed and which ones were being made public for the first time. Airman Teixeira’s disclosures — exposing secrets of the United States, its allies and its adversaries — have bared rifts between the United States and its allies and given Russia information about intelligence-gathering methods, as news organizations have divulged some of the material. And Justice Department lawyers have said the extent of the information he leaked “far exceeds what has been publicly disclosed.”

Persons: Jack Teixeira, Teixeira, —, ” Organizations: Massachusetts Air National, Department Locations: Boston, North Dighton, United States, Russia

WASHINGTON, June 15 (Reuters) - A federal grand jury has indicted a U.S. Air National Guardsman accused of leaking top-secret military intelligence records online, the Justice Department said in a statement on Thursday. Jack Douglas Teixeira, 21, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, was indicted on six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information relating to national defense, the statement said. He was arrested in April after allegedly posting highly classified material on the messaging app Discord, prompting concerns about how a low-level airman could have such broad access to military secrets. The leaked documents held highly classified information on allies and adversaries, with details ranging from Ukraine's air defenses during the Russian invasion to Israel's Mossad spy agency. A member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing, Teixeira had earlier waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

Persons: Jack Douglas Teixeira, Teixeira, Joe Biden, leaker, Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing, Kanishka Singh, Sarah N, Lynch, Rami Ayyub, Susan Heavey, Paul Grant, Eric Beech Organizations: U.S . Air National, Justice Department, WikiLeaks, Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence, Thomson Locations: North Dighton , Massachusetts

☆ Why Doesn’t Anyone Care About the Discord Leaks? - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Serge Schmemann | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In April, secret documents allegedly photographed by a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard began making their way into the mainstream media. Many were briefings prepared by military intelligence services, and much of it dealt with the Russia-Ukraine war. They offered Americans a rare window into the government’s most valuable intelligence on one of Europe’s deadliest conflicts since World War II. The Pentagon did say that the latest disclosures — widely known as the “Discord Leaks” — present a “very serious risk to national security.” But there has been curiously little public interest in the spilled secrets. Reaction to the indictment of Donald Trump has followed a similar pattern, though the case revolves around a former president’s handling of classified files, not leaked secrets.

Persons: We’ve, Hillary Clinton, Edward Snowden, Barack Obama, Jack Teixeira, Donald Trump Organizations: Massachusetts Air National Guard, WikiLeaks, Army, National Security Agency, Pentagon Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, United States

The last time an El Nino was in place, in 2016, the world saw its hottest year on record. DECLARING EL NINOMost experts look to two agencies for confirmation that El Nino has kicked off — NOAA and Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). The two agencies use different metrics for declaring El Nino, with the Australian definition slightly stricter. On Tuesday, Australia issued their own bulletin, noting a 70% chance of El Nino developing this year. Experts say that a strong El Nino could hit sugar production in India and Thailand, and possibly disrupt the sugarcane harvest in Brazil.

Persons: El Nino, El, John Vizcaino, Arcodia, Gloria Dickie, Seher Dareen, Marcelo Teixeira, Angus MacSwan Organizations: U.S . National Oceanic, El, El Nino, NINO, NOAA, Australia's, Meteorology, REUTERS, El Ninos, Colorado State University, Central Pacific, Central Pacific El Nino, Nino, Thomson Locations: South America, Australia, Asia, Nino, El Nino, Pacific, Magdalena, Colombia, Honda, Central, Hawaii, Central Pacific, El, India, Thailand, Brazil, Vietnam, New York, U.S, Indonesia, Malaysia, London

☆ US had intelligence of Ukrainian plan to attack Nord Stream pipeline - Washington Post
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Kanishka Singh | Thomson Reuters | Kanishka Singh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Reuters In Washington Dc | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) - The United States had intelligence of a detailed Ukrainian plan to attack the Nord Stream pipeline three months before it was bombed, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing leaked information posted online. The Washington Post said it got a copy from one of Teixeira's online friends. The specific details included numbers of operatives and methods of attack, according to the Washington Post. Reuters could not immediately confirm the intelligence cited by the Washington Post. Several underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and the newly built Nord Stream 2 pipelines that link Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea in September 2022.

Persons: Jack Teixeira, Moscow, Kanishka Singh, Rami Ayyub, Doina Chiacu, Jon Boyle Organizations: United, Washington Post, CIA, Air National Guard, NATO, Thomson Locations: United States, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Baltic, Sweden, Denmark, Washington

☆ US received intel from European ally that Ukrainian military was planning attack on Nord Stream pipelines, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Natasha Bertrand Alex Marquardt Haley Britzky | Natasha Bertrand | Alex Marquardt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The US received intelligence from a European ally last year that the Ukrainian military was planning an attack on the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines three months before they were hit, three US officials told CNN. The attack on the pipelines last September has been condemned by US officials and Western allies alike as a sabotage on critical infrastructure. CNN has not seen the document but the three officials confirmed the US was told about the Ukrainian plans. But, the intelligence also said that Ukraine’s military operation was “put on hold.”CNN has reached out to the Ukrainian government for comment. “I think you know there are three countries conducting an investigation of the Nord Stream sabotage — and we called it sabotage at the moment — Germany, Sweden, and Denmark.

Persons: Jack Teixeira, “, Valerii, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, John Kirby, ” Kirby, Magdalena Andersson, ’ ” Mykhailo Podolyak, CIA “ Organizations: CNN, The Washington Post, Air National, Washington Post, ” CNN, White, National Security, European Union, Twitter, Russia, Post, CIA Locations: Western, Ukraine, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Nord, Russia, Baltic, Europe, Swedish, Danish, Ukrainian

RenovaBio is a carbon market that gives Brazilian biofuel producers an additional revenue source. Those carbon credits are sold to fuel distributors in Brazil who have targets to cut emissions, or in a secondary market at Brazil's B3 exchange. The lawmakers in a letter to the USTR complained about the implementation in Brazil in February of an import tariff of 16% on U.S. ethanol. "Brazilian ethanol producers have access to our Renewable Fuel Standard and California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard program, which recognize the inherent value of low-carbon biofuels," the letter said. "This treatment is not reciprocated by Brazil, where U.S. ethanol producers, after two years, have yet to be approved for Brazil's biofuel program."

Persons: Katherine Tai, Marcelo Teixeira, Mark Porter Organizations: YORK, U.S ., Trade, Thomson Locations: Brazil, U.S, RenovaBio

Kenvue is well-positioned for accelerated growth following its separation from parent company Johnson & Johnson, according to JPMorgan. Following its spinoff earlier in May, Kenvue is the largest pure-play consumer health company in the world. The company holds commonly-known brands such as Neutrogena, Tylenol, Aveeno and Zyrtec — amounting to 10 brands with sales greater than $400 million. "We view KVUE as uniquely positioned to benefit from consumer mega trends (self-care, aging)." JPMorgan thinks Kenvue is still trading at an attractive valuation despite jumping since its May 3 IPO, which was priced at $22 per share.

☆ Brazil police accuse agency bosses of misconduct in Amazon murder case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, May 19 (Reuters) - Brazil's federal police recommended misconduct charges be filed on Friday against two ex-officials of Indigenous agency Funai in the case of a journalist and a native expert murdered last June in the Amazon rainforest. The police said the two former officials failed to act on information ahead of the murders of British reporter Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira. Reuters was not immediately able to locate the two former Funai officials, or their lawyers, to request comment. The valley is a remote jungle area on the Peruvian border with Brazil that is home to the world's largest number of isolated Indigenous communities, as well as cocaine-smuggling gangs and illegal hunting and fishing rackets. Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Jack Teixeira, Accused Classified-Document Leaker, Faces Detention Decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Jon Kamp | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/jack-teixeira-accused-classified-document-leaker-faces-detention-decision-6188765e

☆ US military leak suspect got offer to bolster intelligence skills
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Tim Mclaughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

As a low-level airman, Teixeira had broad access to military secrets at the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing. He received a warning, and was admonished again a month later after asking detailed questions at a briefing, according to the Justice Department. Attorneys with the Justice Department argue that Teixeira cannot be trusted to live at home with his father. Even after his warnings last year, Teixeira bragged online in early January that he had broad access to top secret information. “I have stuff for Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iran and China,” Teixeira said on social media, according to prosecutors.

WORCESTER, May 19 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday ordered the Air National Guardsman accused of leaking military secrets to remain in jail as he awaits trial on charges he violated the Espionage Act. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy made the decision after lawyers for Jack Douglas Teixeira, 21, asked for him to be released to house arrest pending trial. Teixeira leaked classified documents to a group of gamers on the messaging app Discord, according to prosecutors. While a low-level airman, Teixeira had broad access to military secrets at the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing, according to U.S. Justice Department lawyers. “I have stuff for Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iran and China,” Teixeira said on social media, according to prosecutors.

☆ Defense personnel alarmed after memos reveal Air Force leadership warned about accused Pentagon leaker but let him continue working
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Haley Britzky Sean Lyngaas Zachary Cohen Natasha Bertrand | Haley Britzky | Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Teixeira was arrested on April 14 and has been charged under the Espionage Act with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal of classified information and defense materials. His defense lawyers have argued he didn’t expect classified information that he posted on Discord to be further spread around the internet. According to one current US service member who handles classified intelligence, the memos read as if Teixeira’s leadership was building a case for disciplinary action against him. Jobs under the 1N0 and 1N4 job codes would have given him more hands-on responsibilities with intelligence, the current service member and a former enlisted intelligence airman told CNN. But the current service member said it would not be unusual for senior non-commissioned officers to handle disciplinary matters with a junior enlisted airman like Teixeira.

☆ Airman to Remain Detained as He Awaits Trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Alicia Napierkowski | Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A federal magistrate ruled on Friday that Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Air Force National Guardsman accused of posting scores of secret documents to an online gaming platform, will remain behind bars pending his trial because he poses a continuing threat to national security. The judge, David H. Hennessy, cited Airman Teixeira’s history of seeking out, gaining access to and posting classified intelligence materials, in defiance of superiors at an Air Force base on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, in denying the airman’s request to be released on bond into the custody of his father. Airman Teixeira’s actions were “a profound breach” of the oath he took to protect sensitive information when he was given his security clearance, Judge Hennessy said during a custody hearing at the federal courthouse in Worcester, Mass. His ruling came after the government introduced evidence that the airman continued to have access to sensitive intelligence months after his superiors noted his suspicious behavior. The decision was a victory for the government, which is seeking to send the strongest possible message to potential leakers after a humiliating disclosure of national security secrets that appears to have been pulled off by a boastful young man trying to impress his online friends.

☆ Military Caught Airman Mishandling Secrets Before Arrest but Left Him in Job
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Glenn Thrush | Robin Stein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Air Force officials caught Airman Jack Teixeira taking notes and conducting deep-dive searches for classified material months before he was charged with leaking a vast trove of government secrets, but did not remove him from his job, according to a Justice Department filing on Wednesday. On two occasions in September and October 2022, Airman Teixeira’s superiors in the Massachusetts Air National Guard admonished him after reports that he had taken “concerning actions” while handling classified information. Those included stuffing a note into his pocket after reviewing secret information inside his unit, according to a court filing ahead of a hearing before a federal magistrate judge in Worcester, Mass., on Friday to determine whether he should be released on bail. Airman Teixeira — who until March shared secrets with scores of online friends from around the world on Discord, a social media platform popular with gamers — “was instructed to no longer take notes in any form on classified intelligence information,” lawyers with the department’s national security division wrote in an 11-page memo arguing for his indefinite detention. The airman’s superiors also ordered him to “cease and desist on any deep dives into classified intelligence information,” although it is not clear how, or if, they enforced that directive.

☆ Pentagon leak suspect was caught stuffing notes he'd taken in a top-secret room inside his pocket, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

He was caught taking notes on classified information before his arrest, prosecutors said Wednesday. Superiors had warned Teixeira on multiple occasions, but he didn't listen, they said. The 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman has been indicted in connection to a classified information leak that involved hundreds of Pentagon documents. Some of the documents Teixeira is accused of leaking online included details about Russia's spy agencies' activities and details about aid to Ukraine. However, federal prosecutors are arguing that Texeira poses a security risk because he must still be in possession of classified documents.

☆ Accused Leaker Received Repeated Warnings Over Handling of Classified Information, Prosecutors Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Nancy A. Youssef | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A courtroom sketch shows Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira in U.S. District Court in Boston last month. Photo: Margaret Small/Associated PressNearly seven months before federal authorities charged an airman with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information, members of his unit saw him take notes from classified information, access classified information not related to his job and repeatedly told him to stop, according to memos submitted as part of prosecutors’ latest court filings.

☆ Amid feud with Putin, Wagner mercenary leader offered Ukrainians the locations of invading troops in exchange for sparing his for-hire army, leaked documents reveal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has been feuding with Putin over supplies for his mercenaries. WaPo reported leaked intelligence showed Prigozhin offered to sell out Russian troops to Ukraine. In exchange, Prigozhin wanted Ukraine to ease off his for-hire army on the front lines in Bakhmut. Some versions of the leaked documents circulating online have been edited, Insider previously reported, but two anonymous Ukrainian officials confirmed to WaPo that Prigozhin has spoken to Ukrainian intelligence officers on multiple occasions. The document does not specify which Russian troop positions Prigozhin offered to reveal, WaPo reported, and US officials similarly cast doubt on the Wagner leader's intentions.

☆ Zelenskyy proposed bombing a Russian pipeline and using long-range missiles to hit targets outside Ukraine's borders, leaked documents show
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Intelligence documents leaked last month offered a glimpse into Ukraine's wartime strategy. Among the Ukrainian's secret plans: occupy Russian villages and bomb an oil pipeline. Among the extreme strategies Zelenskyy considered: occupying Russian villages, bombing an oil pipeline that transfers Russian oil to Hungary, and firing long-range missiles at targets beyond the Russian border. In another meeting, the Ukrainian leader lamented, "Ukraine does not have long-range missiles capable of reaching Russian troop deployments in Russia nor anything with which to attack them." Representatives for the Pentagon and Ukraine's Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira was preparing for a violent 'race war' against Black and Jewish people, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Jack Teixeira, 21, was charged with leaking secret Pentagon documents last month. The Air National Guard member was preparing for a violent "race war," The Washington Post found. "He used the term 'race war' quite a few times," a close friend of Teixeira's, who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity, said. "He was afraid they would target White people," his friend told the Post. His online presence also revealed conspiratorial thinking and further racist thinking, including about Jewish people and Muslims.

☆ Gun Owners vs. Gun Nuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Holman W. Jenkins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Wonder Land: When we began to devalue conscience, blurring a pragmatic understanding of right from wrong, we unleashed the whirlwind that engulfs us now. He is reported to have participated in a pestilential online gun culture, replete with tasteless japing about mass shootings. When Democrats have drummed up the votes to disarm Americans or significantly impede their ability to buy guns, text me. I’m referring of the fetishization of guns that has left so much of the gun culture—once personified in Charlton Heston—in its dust. Representative in reality but increasingly less so in public perception are the majority of capable, responsible gun owners who keep guns for legitimate reasons, use them in disciplined fashion, handle them safely with respect for the people around them.

☆ Twitter appeared to limit the reach of investigative news site Bellingcat days after Elon Musk suggested its Texas mall shooter investigation was a 'psyop'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The investigative news website Bellingcat reported on the Texas mall shooter's apparent neo-Nazi beliefs. Right-wing commentators on Twitter suggested that it was fake news, and Elon Musk called it a "psyop." Days later, Bellingcat's founder said its Twitter account no longer appeared in the app's search tool. Bellingcat reported that Garcia had tattoos of a swastika and other Nazi symbols, and posted about being a white supremacist on Odnoklassniki (OK), a Russian social media site. Musk tweeted.

"That combination of overclassification and then too many people having clearances has led us to this problem," Warner told a news conference. He said more than 4 million people in the United States now have security clearance. Attorney General Merrick Garland has also appointed special counsels to investigate the handling of classified records by Republican former President Donald Trump and the handling of classified records from his time as vice president by current Democratic President Joe Biden. The path forward for the bills was not immediately clear but the senators said they hoped the recent attention on the clearance issue would help. "This is a piece of legislation that can become law and it is desperately needed for that to happen," Moran said.

CNN —Iran smuggled weapons and military equipment into Syria using humanitarian aid shipments as a cover following a devastating earthquake there in February, two sources familiar with US intelligence and an Israeli defense official told CNN. Intelligence officials believe the weapons were destined for Iranian proxy groups in Syria, who have repeatedly attacked US military personnel stationed there as part of the anti-ISIS coalition. “The humanitarian assistance of Iran to Syria was used as an umbrella of moving weapons capabilities into the region,” the Israeli defense official said. Reuters earlier reported that regional and western officials believed Iran was smuggling the weapons under the guise of earthquake relief. Foreign aid poured into Syria and Turkey after February’s earthquake, which killed more than 50,000 people.

☆ Wagner chief said his troops are no longer withdrawing from Bakhmut after being promised as many artillery shells as they need
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The leader of the Wagner fighters said they would not retreat from Bakhmut after being promised ammo. Wagner Group fighters have played a key role in bloody fighting in the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine for months. Concord Press Service/via REUTERSThe outspoken Prigozhin and Russia's military leaders have been feuding for months. Recent leaked Pentagon documents shared by National Guard airman Jack Teixeira revealed analysis suggesting Russia's military leadership has struggled to deal with Prigozhin. The Wagner Group had become a major power player in the war, scoring some publicized wins in Ukraine when Russia's invasion was floundering.

Search resuls for: "Teixeira"

25 mentions found