Leaked CIA memo details agency's anti-leak campaign with a side order of irony

Leaks are nothing new, with WikiLeaks perhaps being the first giant aggregated collection of not-intended-for-your-eyes data that caught the public's attention. Following in the same vein were the various FISA and NSA leaks revolving around PRISM brought to light by Edward Snowden. Now in what is an amusing bit of irony, a memo has leaked detailing a campaign by the CIA to stop leaks.

The information comes from the Associated Press, which says it has acquired a leaked CIA memo detailing a campaign to stop leaks from originating within its ranks, whether intentional or as a blunder. The irony of such a revelation aside, this move comes on the agency's part after information was provided to the media by former NSA contractor Snowden detailing the extent to which the government gathers data from places like Google, Facebook, and more.

The memo went out to CIA workers sometime earlier this week, having been launched as the brainchild of the CIA's director John Brennan. The campaign is reportedly called "Honor the Oath," which sounds like it could double nicely as a video game title. The purpose of the campaign, in Brennan's alleged words, is to "reinforce our corporate culture of secrecy."

Such a reinforcement, as he called it, will be achieved by a mixture of both personnel training and education, of which the details for both were not specified. One interesting revelation that does come from the memo is that "former senior officers" of the agency have been pegged as responsible for causing unknown "high-profile anonymous leaks."

The move, according to the Associated Press speaking of Brennan's details, is the result of a security review kicked off about a year ago by then-director David Petraeus. It was that security review that brought "several" big leaks to light that had been the by-product of the agency's own officers. In addition to education and training, the CIA also plans to give more attention to books by former agents and articles slated for publication.

SOURCE: Associated Press