Apr 13, 2023

The Person Who Leaked Government Documents

This story is about the person who leaked government documents, taking them home from his job on a military base and initially transcribing them by hand for a small tribe of online friends before deciding to post photos of entire pages instead. The group of people were united by their mutual love of guns, military gear and God.

GOVERNMENT POLITICS

Kim Zetter

Journalist - cybersecurity/nat security. Author COUNTDOWN TO ZERO DAY: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon. Substack: https://t.co/ZopbgegpDn

Member of Infosec & Cybersecurity

Fantastic story by the Post about the person who leaked the documents (taking them home from his job on a military base) and initially transcribing them by hand for a small tribe of online friends before deciding to post photos of entire pages instead https://t.co/BnpLGSM0sH
— Kim Zetter (@KimZetter) April 13, 2023
“United by their mutual love of guns, military gear and God, the…roughly two dozen mostly men and boys formed an invitation-only clubhouse in 2020 on Discord…they paid little attention last year when the man some call ‘OG’ … claimed to know secrets that the gov withheld”
— Kim Zetter (@KimZetter) April 13, 2023
They “swapped memes, offensive jokes and…watched movies together…and prayed. But OG also lectured them about world affairs and secretive government operations. He…seemed to think that his insider knowledge would offer the others protection from the troubled world around them”
— Kim Zetter (@KimZetter) April 13, 2023
“He’s a smart person. He knew what he was doing when he posted these documents, of course. These weren’t accidental leaks of any kind” one teenage member of the tribe told the Post.
— Kim Zetter (@KimZetter) April 13, 2023
“The young member was impressed by OG’s seemingly prophetic ability to forecast major events before they became headline news…He was by his own account enthralled with OG, who he said was in his early to mid-20s. ‘He’s fit. He’s strong. He’s armed. He’s trained.’”
— Kim Zetter (@KimZetter) April 13, 2023
“In a video…the man [identified as] OG stands at a shooting range, wearing safety glasses…and holding a large rifle. He yells…racial and antisemitic slurs into the camera then fires several rounds at a target. The member seemed drawn to OG’s bravado and…skill with weapons”
— Kim Zetter (@KimZetter) April 13, 2023
“OG was the undisputed leader….He enforced a ‘pecking order’ and expected the others to read closely the classified info he..shared. When their attention waned, he got angry…OG had a dark view of the gov…he spoke of…law enforcement and the intel community as a sinister force”
— Kim Zetter (@KimZetter) April 13, 2023
“the member said he has been in touch with OG…even as an FBI manhunt is underway…He ‘seemed very confused and lost…He’s fully aware of what’s happening and what the consequences may be. He’s just not sure on how to go about solving this situation…He seems…distraught’”
— Kim Zetter (@KimZetter) April 13, 2023
“Despite what his young followers thought, OG would have had no special knowledge compared with his peers. He possessed no special power to predict events. Rather, he appears to have persuaded some highly impressionable teenagers that he’s a modern-day gamer meets Jason Bourne.”
— Kim Zetter (@KimZetter) April 13, 2023