The breach is being investigated by the Justice Department and appears to include secret information on the war in Ukraine as well as sensitive analyses of US allies, whom American officials are now seeking to reassure.
A steady drip of dozens of photographs of documents have been found on Twitter, Telegram, Discord and other sites in recent days, though some may have circulated online for weeks, if not months, before they began to receive media attention last week.
The documents circulating online pose "a very serious risk to national security and have the potential to spread disinformation," said Chris Meagher, assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs, without confirming their authenticity.
"We're still investigating how this happened, as well as the scope of the issue. There have been steps to take a closer look at how this type of information is distributed and to whom," Meagher told journalists.
Many of the documents are no longer available on the sites where they first appeared, and the United States is reportedly continuing to work to have them removed.
Meagher said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was not initially briefed on the issue until the morning of April 6 -- the day a New York Times story on the documents was published.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby told journalists that President Joe Biden was briefed on the leak "late last week," but did not provide a specific date.
Many of the documents relate to Ukraine, such as one that provides information on the country's air defenses or another on international efforts to build up its military forces.
- Reassuring allies -
But other documents point to US surveillance of its allies, such as one that states that leaders of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency advocated for domestic protests against a controversial judicial reform plan.
US officials have been in touch with Washington's allies over the issue, the State Department said.
They "are engaging with allies and partners at high levels over this, including to reassure them on our commitment to safeguarding intelligence and ability to secure our partnerships," spokesperson Vedant Patel told journalists.
The Pentagon also said relevant congressional committees have been informed.
Meagher said a Pentagon team is working to determine if the documents are genuine, but noted that images circulating online seemed to show sensitive information.
"Photos appear to show documents similar in format to those used to provide daily updates to our senior leaders on Ukraine and Russia-related operations, as well as other intelligence updates," he said, but some "appear to have been altered."
This includes a document that seems to have been altered to make it show that Ukraine had suffered higher casualties than Russia, when the apparent original version said the reverse was true.
Kirby said the US government is worried that there may be more documents to come.
"We don't know who's responsible for this. And we don't know if they have more that they intend to post," Kirby said, adding: "Is that a matter of concern to us? You're darn right it is."
The fallout from the apparent leak could be significant -- even deadly -- potentially putting US intelligence sources at risk while giving the country's foes valuable information.
"Disclosure of sensitive classified material can have tremendous implications not only for our national security, but could lead to people losing their lives," Meagher said.
What we know: Leak of classified US documents
Washington (AFP) April 10, 2023 -
The apparent leak of a trove of highly classified US documents -- including many related to the Ukraine conflict -- has triggered a criminal investigation as well as a multi-agency effort to assess the potential fallout.
The source of the leaked documents is unknown and as of Monday the Department of Defense was still working to assess their authenticity, though it has acknowledged they appear to contain sensitive, classified material.
The data has been present online for weeks or possibly even longer, though it only gained widespread media attention earlier this month. Here is what we know so far about the breach:
- What are the documents about? -
Many relate to the war in Ukraine. One provides information about the status of the conflict as of early March, including on Russian and Ukrainian casualties, while others detail the situations on specific fronts such as the battleground city of Bakhmut.
Another provides information about Ukrainian air defenses, which have been key to countering Russian missile and drone strikes, while one shows details on international efforts to build up Kyiv's military forces.
Other documents aren't related to Ukraine. Some, for example, point to US surveillance of its allies, such as one that states leaders of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency advocated for domestic protests against a controversial Israeli judicial reform plan that would have given lawmakers substantially more control over the supreme court.
- Are they genuine? -
The Pentagon says it is working to "assess the validity of the photographed documents that are circulating on social media sites," but admitted they "appear to contain sensitive and highly classified material."
At least one document seems to have been manipulated to make it say that Ukraine had suffered higher casualties than Russia, when the apparent original version said the reverse was true.
But US officials reportedly believe that many of the documents are genuine.
- What is US doing in response? -
The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the apparent leak, while an assessment into its potential impact on national security is ongoing.
US officials have also been in touch with Washington's international allies about the issue, and relevant congressional committees have been informed.
- What impact could leak have? -
The impact of the leak could be significant, putting US intelligence sources at risk and also providing Russia with valuable information on the status of Ukrainian forces.
Documents pertaining to America's allies could also be a source of diplomatic embarrassment, detailing US surveillance of countries with which Washington has close ties.
- Where did documents appear? -
The documents were posted to various social media platforms and other sites, including Twitter, 4Chan and Discord.
But many of them are no longer available on the sites where they first appeared, and the United States is reportedly continuing to work to have them removed.
Independent investigative outlet Bellingcat has looked into where the documents first appeared, reporting that some may have been online before January 2023.
Some were posted on Discord -- a popular chat platform for video gamers -- in channels for fans of a YouTube celebrity and players of the "Minecraft" computer game, Bellingcat said.
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