Shawn Carpenter Vindicated

Two years ago I posted Real Threat Reporting. My story discussed Shawn Carpenter, formerly an analyst at Sandia National Labs who discovered Titan Rain activity at his site. After bringing news of the intrusions to the FBI, Sandia fired him.

According to these AP, ComputerWorld, and FCW stories, a New Mexico jury awarded Shawn "$35,661 for lost wages and benefits, $1,875 for counseling costs and $350,000 for emotional distress." The jury also awarded "$4.3 million in punitive damages" which makes "doing the right thing" a financially attractive proposition when your agency doesn't want you discussing national security failings with outside parties.

Comments

Fergie said…
Hi Richard,

You should also use this Time.com link:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1589735,00.html

...since Time broke the original "Titan Rain" story:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1098906,00.html

- ferg
7:12 PM
Richard Bejtlich said…
Oh, great first link -- thanks! The second is in my original post.
7:17 PM
Roman said…
I thought the original Titan Rain story was broken in the Washington Post, with a follow-up, more detailed article in Time?
3:37 PM
Anonymous said…
It's interesting that all of the other pundits who used Carpenter as a kickball a year and a half ago don't seem to be blogging much on Carpenter's trial verdict.

During conversations with Sandia National Laboratories people at conferences and training, it sounds like it has been hellish there for quite some time. The employees I've met seem to be fearful of losing their jobs, because of their at will employment. Carpenter's story certainly punctuates the strange vibes I got off of some of these people.

I wonder if officials at the Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration are paying attention. Didn't the NNSA office at Sandia have their own security debacle last year?
7:52 PM
ncpctech said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
11:36 PM
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