CIA's Own Memo About Cracking Down on Leaks Was...Leaked

With leaks and internal whistleblowing being a hot topic of late, especially with the major scandal that erupted after former CIA employee and later government contractor Edward Snowden revealed classified details about NSA spying programs, government agencies have a renewed interest in being vigilant about protecting their information.

CIA Director John Brennan, for example, is launching a new campaign aimed at pressuring CIA officers to keep the intelligence agency's secrets secret. Only it appears that the memo that might have been intended for internal eyes only was leaked.

CIA Director John Brennan testifies before a full committee hearing on "Current and Projected National Security Threats to the United States"at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, on March 12, 2013. AFP PHOTO/Jewel Samad (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

The memo to the CIA workforce this week has Brennan calling it the "Honor the Oath" campaign, which intended to "reinforce our corporate culture of secrecy" through education and training. The Associated Press reported obtaining the memo Wednesday. It was marked unclassified but for official use only.

Brennan writes that the campaign stems from a review of CIA security launched last summer by former director David Petraeus, following what Brennan calls "several high-profile anonymous leaks and publications by former senior officers."

The review concluded the CIA also needs to be tougher with pre-publication review of articles or books by former employees.

The CIA declined to comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Featured image via Shutterstock.com.

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