'Keyboard Battle Leads to US Military Intelligence Leak?'..."Chatroom Argument Is the Cause"

Foreign Media "First Leak on Internet Community"
1.25 Million US Top-Secret Access Holders
2021 UK and France Military Secrets Leak Precedent

The authorities are facing difficulties as it has been revealed that a large number of classified US military documents have been leaked online. Among the documents, there are reportedly contents presumed to be surveillance and interception data of allied countries including South Korea, deepening the controversy.

The problem lies in where the classified documents were first leaked. The Dutch open-source analysis media 'Bellingcat' identified the original source of the materials as a 'game chat room.' It was reported that during a verbal dispute among community users, one user leaked classified information to support their argument. As the influence of online communities and social networking services (SNS) grows immensely, concerns are emerging that this now significantly impacts national security.

On the 9th (local time), Bellingcat published an article titled "From Discord to 4chan: The Incredible Journey of a US Government Leak." The Bellingcat team traced the origin of the recently leaked US military classified documents and stated that the original source is presumed to be a game-related chat room on the SNS platform 'Discord.'

This game-related chat room is a gathering place for users of the popular game 'Minecraft,' which is also well-known in South Korea, with approximately 900,000 users. The classified documents were first leaked on January 13.

At that time, a so-called 'keyboard battle' (a term referring to online verbal fights among users) broke out among some users over the progress of the Russia-Ukraine war, and during this process, one user distributed US military classified documents to support their argument.

These documents soon spread to other popular communities such as 'Reddit' and '4chan,' and eventually, the Department of Defense and the White House belatedly became aware of the situation. The US Pentagon acknowledged this leak as "one of the most significant among recent US classified leaks."

UK and French Military Intelligence Also Leaked in Game Communities in 2021

The document is believed to have first been leaked in a chat room related to the game "Minecraft." [Image source=Minecraft, Balingket]

This is not the first time that national classified information has been leaked through online communities. In 2021, tank-related information of the British and French militaries was leaked online, causing controversy.

The leak occurred in a community related to the game 'War Thunder,' released in 2012, which features battles using real tanks and aircraft. The leakers were current and former military personnel who distributed classified documents, claiming that the specifications of their national military equipment depicted in the game differed from reality.

Classified information related to the Russia-Ukraine war was also leaked in large quantities on the Russian closed SNS 'Telegram,' causing difficulties for the military authorities of both countries. It is reported that some of the leaked materials from such platforms intentionally include fake information or manipulated photos to cause confusion on the actual battlefield.

There is a growing concern that the realm of information warfare has expanded beyond national intelligence agencies to general online communities. The US government is also struggling to identify the original leaker of the classified documents.

1.25 Million People Have Access to Top Secret US Documents... Risk of 'Show-off Leaks'

John Kirby, U.S. White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications
Photo by AP Yonhap News

According to the British media 'The Guardian,' the person who leaked the US military classified documents likely did so without any particular reason, merely to show off. In fact, about 1.25 million government officials have access to top secret US documents.

Regarding this, Bellingcat stated, "(Users of the community where the information was leaked) are not interested in the war. Most are young people who play 'Call of Duty' (a famous US war game), engage in voice chats, share memes, or some are teenagers."

The Guardian pointed to "careless handling of classified information by the US government" as the main cause of this leak, evaluating it as "a more worrying truth than suspicions of fake information or Russian hacking."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.