Los Alamos Flunks a Security Test

[InfoSec News <isn () C4I ORG>]

http://www.msnbc.com/news/501216.asp#los

[Is Richard Marcinko's Red Cell back in business again?  -WK]

Just as the FBI seemed to be clearing up loose ends in its
investigation of fired Los Alamos nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee,
NEWSWEEK has learned of other security worries at the atomic-research
facility. Sources close to the Energy Department say that in a recent
drill conducted by DOE, security precautions at one of the labs most
sensitive areas were seriously compromised. For the October exercise,
an internal DOE watchdog unit assembled a team of former military
commandos to stage a mock attack on an installation called Technical
Area 18, now guarded by a private security contractor. During the
drill, both the attack team and the guard force were equipped with
nonlethal laser weapons.

According to some security sources, the attackers penetrated the
perimeter at T/A18, and could, theoretically, have blown up a large
quantity of the highly dangerous enriched uranium that is used in
experiments. Energy Department officials confirm that the commandos
did get through two layers of security at the facility but deny they
got close enough to the target to blow it up and cause a nuclear
disaster. But the officials concede that the exercise was stopped by
controllers in mid-firefight. DOE officials say Energy Secretary Bill
Richardson has ordered immediate improvements.

Meanwhile, FBI officials have found several computer tapes in a Los
Alamos landfill. The bureau, which bungled the case against Lee, is
trying to determine whether the tapes contain nuclear data he
downloaded.

ISN is hosted by SecurityFocus.com
---
To unsubscribe email LISTSERV () SecurityFocus com with a message body of
"SIGNOFF ISN".