Another DoE Security Breach

Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratories has suffered another severe security breach. This time, rather than huge cyber issues, LANL is failing to properly screen its contractors for drug use. In addition, they are not doing internal audits to ensure that proper and documented security steps are being taken to secure classified documents.

A maintenance worker at LANL was recently busted for running a Meth Lab out of his home. During the search, investigators turned up classified documents stored at the worker’s home.

Drug users are supposed to be screened out and prevented from obtaining classified clearances. And uncleared workers are not supposed to be in spaces where classified documents are being used. Even if the worker lied on his clearance paperwork about his drug use, his job as a maintenance worker does not grant him access to classified documents, which means that someone failed to take proper measures to safeguard them. You are supposed to lock such documents in a safe, not leave them lying around to be picked up by a Meth Head doing his night job.

From CBS here:

Another apparent breach of classified material is under federal investigation at the nation’s premier nuclear weapons laboratory: Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The breach apparently was discovered when Los Alamos police recently conducted a methamphetamine raid on an area home. Inside the house, along with drug paraphernalia, police allegedly found classified materials apparently from the grounds of the Los Alamos Laboratory. How somebody involved in illegal drugs would also have access to classified materials from the nation’s nuclear weapons facility is unknown but under investigation.

The home is believed to belong to a Los Alamos Laboratory contractor who does maintenance at the laboratory.

The FBI has been called in to lead the investigation into the security breach and executed a search warrant on Friday. The U.S. attorney’s office in Albuquerque, N.M., is reviewing the case.

After so many documented security breaches, the Department of Energy needs to fire its security chief and replace him with someone who takes his duties seriously. With rogue nations trying to acquire nuke technology, we don’t need a Meth Head selling secrets to the Iranians in exchange for free pseudo-ephedrine.