Some Americans have reacted to the news of a huge leak of top-secret documents with surprise and outrage that such a thing as government spying has been going on focused on friends and foes alike. On what planet have such people been living? They sound as silly as Inspector Renault in “Casablanca” shocked that there’s gambling going on at Rick’s. 

Don’t they know their tax dollars fund the CIA with its 21,000 semployees to the tune of $15 billion a year” And also the NSA which praises itself for “generating foreign intelligence applying cyber security expertise.” These electronic spies number 40,000 and cost another $10, million per annum. And then there’s the NRO which runs our spy satellites for another $7 billion. 

Some dainty people may believe it impolite to be eavesdropping on others, but this is touchingly naïve. Not for the first time I quote from “Night People” a 1954 Cold War film set in a divided Berlin. When a young U.S. soldier is nabbed by the Soviets his wealthy father turns up to demand action and suggests offering a ransom. The intelligence officer in charge of the case, Colonel Van Dyke, tells him he isn’t dealing with people who can be bought, but with “head hunting, bloodthirsty cannibals, who are out to eat us up.” 

In a better world we wouldn’t needs spies or an arsenal of 5,428 nuclear warheads prepared to obliterate enemies at a moments notice. Alas, Russia is believed to have 5,977 warheads of its own and China at least 400 and adding more all the time. They and other malefactors are immune to persuasion, as their ruthless behavior in Ukraine, Hong Kong, and threats to Taiwan’s survival demonstrate. 

If Americans should be shocked by anything it’s not that dangers exist, but that such a leak of our intelligence could have happened. Dozens of classified documents, intended only for the eyes of General Milley, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, suddenly appeared online for any one to see.

The original material was designed to allow the military to assess current threats and opportunities.The documents describe Ukrainian weapons shortages, battlefield conditions, Russian strategic plans, information on China’s views of Ukraine, insider data on Russia’s private squad of Berserkers, The Wagner Group, how the CIA has been recruiting agents, information gleaned from eavesdropping on Russian mercenaries, and strategic satellite images. 

Then, suddenly all these secrets turn up on a publicly accessible server. And some of the documents seem to have been altered to make the United States look worse and out enemies better, which may suggest something about the origin of the hackers. This is an intelligence catastrophe, and a crime bordering on treason. It is also just the latest evidence that our reliance on technology and on the cyberworld is dangerous. If there are no secrets in a world of hackers, no one is safe. 

More to the point, if it is possible to protect our security, why are we so frequently and catastrophically failing to do so, not just in the realm of geopolitics but also in the regard to our economic safety. The list of hacks that have stolen data meant to be private is long. The data of citizens using Yahoo has been hacked, likewise LinkedIn, Facebook, the Marriott corporation, and Adobe, just to name a few. 

Also breached have been data from 21 million files from the Government Office of Personnel Management, National Archives data concerning 76 million entries, data on 26 million servicemen from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and in 2015 information from U.S.Voter databases of 191 million individuals may have been exposed to prying eyes. 

Aside from technical solutions, what are the criminal solutions available? Once the thieves have stolen the jewels and sold them to the highest bidder or posted them for all to see, what good will prosecuting the villains do, assuming they can even be identified. In an online world the hackers may be a world away, in front of a keyboard, freelancing or working for a hostile power,  and making our secrets available to anyone with a laptop. Are we safe? It doesn’t feel like it. We spy, they spy, everyone spies.