NSA contractor thought to have stolen classified material the old-fashioned way: on paper

Harold T. Martin III is accused of stealing mounds of classified information from the government for at least a decade, and investigators also believe some of the information was taken the old-fashioned way - by walking out of the workplace with printed-out papers he had hidden, according to US officials.

The case against Martin, which was unsealed last week, raises new questions about whether the National Security Agency and other agencies are doing enough to detect and prevent their sensitive data from leaving the secure confines of government offices.

While investigators believe much of Martin’s material was removed before stringent controls were imposed in the wake of 2013 disclosures linked to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, some feel the system still failed.

When investigators searched Martin’s home, they seized several terabytes of data, which Martin stored on dozens of computers and other devices, and thousands of pages of documents, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an open case. Investigators are still exploring whether he was connected in any way to the online leak of some of the NSA’s most powerful hacking tools in August.

“Someone was able to walk out the front door with a whole bunch of stuff from NSA,” said one congressional aide. “That’s not supposed to happen.”

Martin has been charged with theft of government property and unauthorised removal of classified materials. His attorney has said there is “no evidence” that he intended to betray his country. Martin previously worked in the Navy - he left active duty in 1992 - before taking a variety of tech jobs with government contractors, according to records and people who knew him.