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None of which is actually particularly out-of-band for the treatment of individuals who are believed to have distributed classified documents, or an organization that re-distributes illegally obtained classified documents. I worked for about 22 months for a company that had a classified lab and handled classified data, and I can tell you, the U.S. government takes security classification seriously, and the penalties for distributing classified data are pretty hefty. Penalties pretty much begin at probation and dismissal, and end at being tried for treason (which, I believe, could potentially carry the death penalty). What you're reporting is exactly the treatment that I would've expected if I'd walked out of the lab with classified information - even if I didn't distribute it, in point of fact.

One day, I copied a chunk of source-tree onto a disk and took it out of the lab, at my boss's request. When I reviewed it to make sure there was no classified data included, I missed one file (out of, I think, 500 or so) that had classified constants in it. I was in serious jeopardy of loosing my job. And I never distributed that disk: it sat on my boss's desk over night, and he physically shredded it in the morning, when he discovered the slip. (I didn't loose my job, just FYI. My boss, the person who requested the files, took the hit.)

This has nothing to do with WikiLeaks and net censorship; this is how the U.S. Govornment has always reacted to people who distribute classified documents. And they've always taken pains to make sure that people with clearances know what happens if you distribute classified data and get caught.

Edited 2010-11-30 22:31 UTC