Who is the 21-year-old accused of the biggest US security breach since the WikiLeaks data dump?

A 21-year-old national guardsman in the US is facing espionage charges over the leaking online of highly classified military documents.

The disclosure of confidential details about the Ukraine war and other spying activities has caused embarrassment in Washington and threatens to strain ties with key allies.

The Pentagon has described it as a "very serious risk to national security".

Ukarine latest: Pentagon leak suspect to appear in court

So who is Jack Teixeira, detained by the authorities over the unauthorised release, believed to be the most serious security breach since the damaging WikiLeaks data dump in 2010?

The 21-year-old was an airman 1st class at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, according to his service record.

He joined the Air National Guard in 2019 and worked as a "cyber transport systems journeyman", which is essentially an IT specialist responsible for military communications networks and ensuring their protection.

Moment 'leaker' of US documents arrested

SHARE

SHARE

TWEET

SHARE

EMAIL

Click to expand

UP NEXT

Security clearance

As such he would have had a higher level of security clearance

Teixeira was arrested on Thursday by armed FBI agents at his home in the small town of Dighton, which lies around 50 miles (80km) south of Boston and has a population of 8,000.

A neighbour said he had previously attended Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School.

'Just a quiet guy'

Former schoolmate Eddy Souza, 22, said: "He's a good kid, not a troublemaker, just a quiet guy.

"It sounds like it was a stupid kid's mistake."

Read more:

What do the highly classified documents say?

How did someone so young have access to such sensitive files?

Teixeira went by the handle "OG" in a chat group on the instant messaging site Discord, where the documents are believed to have originated.

Called Thug Shaker Central it had around two dozen mostly young members who talked about their favourite types of guns and also shared memes and jokes, some of them racist.

Teixeira is believed to have been active on the site for years.

Closely guarded US secrets

Some who chatted with him said he also posted about closely guarded US secrets, although Teixeira has been depicted as motivated more by bravado than ideology.

Originally typing the sensitive material out with his own notations, a few months ago he switched to posting images of folded-up papers because he felt he was not being taken seriously, according to one member.

Threat of lengthy jail sentence

Held "in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorised removal, retention, and transmission of classified

national defence information" - Teixeira faces being charged under the Espionage Act and could be handed a lengthy jail sentence if convicted.

Brain vs muscles: The changing face of private security

SGA Security Chairman and CEO Julius Delahaije came to Kenya seven years ago after years in the ICT, security and cybersecurity fields in Europe.

He has witnessed the transformation of the local and regional private security industry, particularly the adoption of technology. He shares some insights on these developments.

SGA has been in the security business for more than 50 years. How has the security landscape changed over that time? 

It has changed dramatically, and it’s still changing. Fifty years ago, the main security items considered prone to theft were physical materials.

In those days, men guarded the physical aspects of security. There was much less intelligence, less proactiveness and less technology. Over time, technology has grown.

We see more and more alarm systems, for instance, at homes, but even if you compare the alarm system systems of 20 years ago to what is currently in the market, there is a huge difference. Soon, even newer systems will be introduced. 

Over time, there have come so many other security companies in the market to provide similar services. How have you kept up? 

There are new regulations now in Kenya with Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA). They introduced requirements for a licence, and that is a minimum standard. At SGA, we have even higher standards.

We are an ISO18788-certified company - the highest standard for private security companies.

It regulates not only the security operations and risk management for high-end industries such as oil and gas mining, the banking industry, NGOs and embassies.

Stay informed. Subscribe to our newsletter

We subscribe to the United Nations guidelines on human rights and doing business. Also to the code of conduct (international governance standards). There are only a few companies today in the region that are certified with those standards. 

You speak about being proactive instead of reactive. Why is this the case? 

In the past, security companies or security researchers were more reactive. We just tried to identify what had happened, but it would be too late. The industry used to be referred to as muscles without brains.

Today, security today is completely the opposite. It’s about intelligence. It’s about being proactive. If you don’t take action and measures to prevent a crime, it will be too late.  

How did your role as a company change during Covid-19?  

It was not only about protecting buildings but also monitoring the temperature of people, trying to identify whether they had a fever and potentially Covid-19.

Thermal cameras measure the temperature automatically and create an alert. They not only measure the temperature of the human body but also the temperature of objects as every object has a different temperature. If you put a weapon in your pocket, a thermal camera will detect it. 

What are your organisational structures? 

We have a group head office here in Nairobi. Each of the other countries has its own local management teams with fully-fledged management teams.

Every major city has an SGA office branch. These management teams have a country manager, finance, legal and HR operations. 

How has the economic turmoil of the past few years affected the private security business? 

Covid-19 affected many businesses in different sectors. Lockdowns complicated matters because we had provisions for special passes or special authorisation because security is obviously important. When businesses are affected, we are affected as well.

On the other hand, we saw also other business units requiring different types of services or more services.

Some security measures were different when some buildings were empty. It was a good test for us to understand where we are and also on sustainability. 

How many employees do you have?

Approximately 18,000 people. A little more than 5,000 in Kenya and about the same in Tanzania, with the rest in Uganda. 

Do you train them yourselves? 

Yes, we train them ourselves. It depends on the country as there are some differences in where the recruits come from. But in general, all our staff is trained in-house. We have our own training schools in each of the countries. Usually, they start with at least one month of general training on security, but most of them actually get training on the jobs depending on the assignments. For instance, an embassy has its own protocols and requirements. There is also specialised training when it comes to technology.  

Do you have any expansion plans outside East Africa? 

In the next five years, we expect more emphasis on innovation. Beyond Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, we already carry out cash-in-transit services and delivery of valuables in other countries... we are definitely looking into expanding in the region. 

Having worked in Central, and Eastern Europe, how different is it from here security-wise? 

When I came, there was quite a huge backlog in security provisioning. I think East Africa is catching up. An awareness of security is definitely there in some areas, but I think people need to be more aware of what is really secure. Is it really safe, or do we think it is safe?

Sometimes, when I see organisations being penny-wise pound-foolish, leaving their gates wide open for criminality. That’s where the market can definitely improve. 

Will Africa ever catch up with the developed world? 

I think so. And that point is getting closer and closer. The technology is there for the application. I think many people are still not aware of what is available and sometimes not aware of what the risks are, and they don’t know what is lacking quite often is a proper risk exam.

All available devices and systems need to be used. Security is like insurance; you get only something back if something serious happens. You have to invest in it to be safe. If you can afford it and understand what the risks are.

Gwyneth Paltrow team offers court security 'treats' at ski crash trial

A judge has rejected an offer from actress Gwyneth Paltrow's legal team to "bring in treats" for courtroom security at her trial in Utah.

The unusual request prompted a courtroom objection, leading the judge to say "thank you, but no thank you".

Ms Paltrow is accused of causing a collision that left retired eye doctor Terry Sanderson, 76, concussed.

He is seeking $300,000 (£244,000) in damages. She denies blame for the crash in February 2016 and has countersued.

Ahead of testimony on the third day of the 50-year-old Oscar winner's civil trial in Park City, her attorney Steve Owens said: "Private security for my client wanted to bring in treats for the bailiffs for how helpful they've been."

"So, I wanted to do that transparently and see if there are any objections," he added.

Lawyers for Mr Sanderson swiftly objected, prompting Judge Kent Holmberg to say: "OK, there's an objection so thank you, but no thank you."

But he said either party could "decide to do that later" if they wished.

It's unclear what treats her team was prepared to offer.

During Thursday's proceedings, the plaintiff's daughter, Polly Sanderson-Grasham, said her father had been "outgoing and engaged" before his ski accident, but now gets "agitated" and is "easily frustrated".

Ms Sanderson-Grasham, 49, detailed an occasion after the accident when she said she really noticed the changes in her father.

"He was sitting in a chair by the window and I almost expected drool to be coming out of his mouth," she said.

"First of all, he wasn't engaged with anybody. He had kind of taken himself to a remote corner and that was my first real kind of slap in the face of, like, something's terribly wrong."

However, under cross-examination she accepted that her dad was on occasion "frequently frustrated" and "overstepping the boundaries" before the collision.

She added that her father had become "obsessed" with the trial and badly wanted an apology.

Mr Sanderson lost consciousness for several minutes after the crash, and suffered a concussion and four fractured ribs, according to his legal action.

A doctor who gave evidence on Thursday morning said the plaintiff had sustained a traumatic brain injury that "completely changed his life".

Dr Alina Fong, a neuropsychologist, said Mr Sanderson had been "struggling with concussion symptoms for a year and a half" when she first saw him in May 2017.

She said Mr Sanderson reported symptoms, including "mood and personality changes, pain as well as headaches".

Asked whether there was any indication he was faking his symptoms, Dr Fong said there was "none whatsoever".

The incident on a beginners' slope at the upmarket Utah ski resort took place while Ms Paltrow was skiing with her family.

Mr Sanderson's lawyers say the movie-star-turned-lifestyle-influencer was uphill on the slope and crashed into him from behind, with his injuries providing evidence of this.

But her defence team say she had begun descending the slope when a man collided into her back.

They have focused on Mr Sanderson's medical conditions from before the collision, including vision and hearing loss from a stroke.

Ms Paltrow is seeking $1 in damages plus attorneys' fees. She is expected to give evidence on Friday.