Hackers hit top CIA spy Agency matters, personal details published online

THE CIA has accused WikiLeaks of “malicious intent” after the anti-secrecy campaign group published an initial tranche of documents it said were from the personal email account of director John Brennan.

The CIA said there was no indication yet that any classified information was released, but the leak is still hugely embarrassing for America’s spy chief and WikiLeaks said more files would be published “in the coming days”.

The US Government has been dogged in recent years by high-profile leaks, including a trove of diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks.

The six files released on Wednesday did not include any top-secret documents.

WikiLeaks, however, said Mr Brennan had “used the account occasionally for several intelligence-related projects”.

Perhaps the most revealing document is a draft version of Brennan’s background check questionnaire from a security clearance application he apparently made in 2008.

It lists several of his friends and associates, as well as a detailed work history and a slew of other personal and family details.

One of the names listed, along with a phone number, is that of George Tenet, CIA director from 1996 to 2004.

A woman who answered that phone said Mr Tenet was not speaking to the press.

The release also includes a 2008 letter from Christopher “Kit” Bond, then vice-chairman of the US Senate select committee on intelligence, calling for a ban of certain “harsh interrogation techniques”.

Additionally, there was a fax from 2008 detailing a legal spat between the CIA and a business firm called The Analysis Corporation.

There is also a 2007 draft memo Mr Brennan wrote about Iran, and another draft paper dated July that year in which he outlines various challenges facing the US intelligence community.

The CIA angrily hit out at WikiLeaks.

“The hacking of the Brennan family account is a crime and the Brennan family is the victim,” it said in a statement.

“The private electronic holdings of the Brennan family were plundered with malicious intent. This attack is something that could happen to anyone and should be condemned, not promoted.”

It comes days after it was reported that a teenage hacker had broken into Mr Brennan’s AOL account.

The apparently low-tech method the hacker employed to access the account is sure to spark ridicule in Washington.

The hacker has claimed he accessed the account by using a process called “social engineering” in which he tricked Verizon workers into divulging Mr Brennan’s personal information, then convinced AOL to reset his password.