Challenger 2 Tank details leaked on game forum

What was Happened

The AESP (Army Equipment Support Publication, the equivalent of a users manual) of the UK Challenger 2 Tank was leaked on a game forum. A member of the forum, claiming to be a Challenger 2 Commander, claimed the design of the tank in the game was flawed and posted the AESP to prove their point. The game publisher, Gaijin Entertainment, also runs the forum and removed the post and contacted MoD to ascertain the status of the documents.

When they discovered the documents were still classified they kept them down and notified forum users of the offence and reminded them not to post classified documents. The information was only up for a short period before being removed by forum moderators, but the secret is out, who has it now is hard to know.

Could it have been prevented

Stricter document control and better training on the importance of secrets and handling of documents could help. In a hyper connected world, it can be easy for lines to be blurred between the real and digital worlds. Especially when egos are involved. I think when secrets are shared or available to people who don’t understand their importance, this type of leak is inevitable. People don’t value what they don’t value.

Reflection

I find it interesting that the documents posted in the game forum were stamped unclassified and with text redacted – but the Ministry of Defence refuted this, saying that the document was in fact classified. It seems a bit fishy to me. I also wonder about the wisdom of confirming that the document was classified on the forum, if this was a genuine mistake and leak, then any malicious people who now hold the document know that it is authentic.

On the surface this appears to be an idiot trying to prove how clever they are. But I can’t help but wonder (given the case of the lost documents found at a bus stop) if there isn’t a discreditation campaign being waged against the UK.