Oops — Looks Like the New York Times Published Something They Probably Shouldn't Have

The New York Times appeared to have accidentally revealed the name of a National Security Agency employee last month when the paper of record published a story containing classified NSA documents.

The New York Times accidentally published last month sensitive information that appeared to reveal the name of an NSA employee. (Image source: Shutterstock)

The Jan. 27 story focused on how "spy agencies tap data streaming from phone apps," such as the mega-popular iPhone game "Angry Birds."

To support their claims, the Times published a series of classified NSA documents  they had obtained. But, the paper of record forgot to do one key thing, in regards to a few documents.

The Blot has more:

Shortly after the slides were published, computer experts noticed that the Times failed to properly redact sensitive information contained in the documents that the paper did not intend to make public.

The improper redactions exposed the name of the NSA agent responsible for authoring the presentation along with the identity of one Middle Eastern terrorist group believed to use a particular kind of cell phone.

Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokeswoman for the paper, told the Associated Press that the publication of improperly redacted documents was a “production error.” The paper eventually removed and republished the documents with the identities properly redacted.

The AP also reported that the document published by the Times "briefly contained material that appeared to publish the name of an NSA employee."

A spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told the AP that the agency asked the Times to redact the sensitive information.

According to The Blot, Times spokeswoman Rhoades Ha did not return emails seeking comment. At the time of publication, she had not immediately responded to TheBlaze's request for comment.

(H/T: The Blot)

—

Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter