Army’s Lax Security Highlighted In US WikiLeaks Hearing

Previous reports have claimed that Manning downloaded and copied data onto CDs pretending to contain music by Lady Gaga. Intelligence analysts where Manning worked routinely loaded music, movies and games bought in street markets in Iraq on the military’s secured computer network SIPRNet, according to court documents. Analysts at the “sensitive compartmented information facility” also downloaded music on the computers and played games on the same machines used for accessing classified information, testified Captain Casy Fulton, Manning’s supervising officer.

“There is only a limited amount of supervisors; we can’t supervise everyone every second of the day,” Fulton said.

Buddy list links

Army investigators described how they found evidence that Manning (pictured right during his time under detention) had directly communicated with WikiLeaks founder Assange on Manning’s personal computer.

Investigators found two email addresses linked to Assange listed on an instant messaging client’s “buddy list”, and a copy of an email in which Manning told an acquaintance he’d provided WikiLeaks with a classified video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad that resulted in civilian casualties.

Investigators also recovered 14 to 16 pages of chat logs that were logged by the Adium instant messaging client. Even though Manning had taken the chats “off the record”, which uses a cryptographic protocol to encrypt instant messages. However, Adium logged OTR chats by default.

Investigators also found evidence that Manning had re-installed the operating system and wiped the hard drive in early January 2010.

The prosecution also released a text file that had been on a memory card alongside some 500,000 battlefield reports.

“This is possibly one of the more significant documents of our time, removing the fog of war and revealing the true nature of 21st century asymmetric warfare. Have a good day,” the text file reads.

The United States has claimed the data breach imperilled valuable military and diplomatic sources abroad. Manning’s lawyers have argued that once exposed, the classified material has proved to be harmless.

After both sides finish presenting at the preliminary hearing, a military officer will recommend to the commander of the Military District of Washington whether Manning should be court-martialled. Manning could also be tried on 22 charges, including aiding the enemy. If convicted, he could face life in prison.