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Awareness in Action: Case Study: If You SEE Something, SAY Something

Bryan Martin, a Navy petty officer, was arrested in 2010 for attempting to sell classified documents to someone he believed was a Chinese intelligence officer. He pleaded guilty to four counts of attempted espionage and was sentenced to 34 years in prison. Martin was experiencing financial problems due to gambling and prostitution debts and claimed he was "blinded by greed" when he sold the documents. The classified information he sold included details about U.S. operations that could have caused grave damage to national security if sold to a real foreign agent. This case study examines the real-life threat posed by insiders and encourages vigilance to protect against such threats.

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77 views1 page

Awareness in Action: Case Study: If You SEE Something, SAY Something

Bryan Martin, a Navy petty officer, was arrested in 2010 for attempting to sell classified documents to someone he believed was a Chinese intelligence officer. He pleaded guilty to four counts of attempted espionage and was sentenced to 34 years in prison. Martin was experiencing financial problems due to gambling and prostitution debts and claimed he was "blinded by greed" when he sold the documents. The classified information he sold included details about U.S. operations that could have caused grave damage to national security if sold to a real foreign agent. This case study examines the real-life threat posed by insiders and encourages vigilance to protect against such threats.

Uploaded by

CristyBalan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Awareness in Action: Case Study

Who could become an insider threat? Anyone with authorized access to protected information who uses
that access—either wittingly or unwittingly—to harm national security. Insider threats can have far reaching
consequences and impacts on national security.
Bryan Martin
Petty Officer 2nd Class Bryan Martin
 Arrested in December 2010 for Insider Threat Indicators
attempting to sell classified  Financial: Personal finance
documents to someone he believed problems known to peers
was a Chinese intelligence officer  Personal Conduct: Excessive
 Pleaded guilty to four counts of gambling and prostitution
attempted espionage  Mishandling Classified
 Age at conviction: 22 Documents: Removed classified
Sentenced to 34 years in prison, documents and material from secure
reduced in rank, forfeited all pay and facilities.
allowances and a dishonorable
discharge from the Navy.

What Happened
 Martin claimed that he was “blinded by greed” when he sold classified documents to
a man he believed was a Chinese spy, but was actually an undercover FBI Agent.
 Martin was overextended due to gambling and prostitution debts. He was recently
engaged and in an effort to shore up personal finances and impress his father-in-law
to be he attempted espionage.
 The undercover agent paid Martin $11,500 in exchange for three packets of
documents containing Secret and Top Secret information about current naval
operations and intelligence assessments.
Impacts
 The classified information Martin sold to the undercover agent included photos,
satellite images and details about U.S. operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
 Martin revealed his access to military computer systems and named classified
network systems he had access to.
 Could have resulted in grave damage to U.S. National Security if the undercover
agent was in fact a Chinese foreign intelligence agent.

Learn More
This case study examined a real-life insider threat. Your awareness is key to protecting our national security
from insider threats like this one. Visit the Center for Development of Security Excellence’s website
(http://www.cdse.edu) for additional case studies, information, materials, and training or go directly to the
Insider Threat Tool Kit at http://www.cdse.edu/toolkits/insider/index.php

If you SEE something, SAY something.

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