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Shawn Carpenter

December 18, 2023

Shawn R. Carpenter is a cyber security analyst and whistleblower (previously employed by Sandia National Laboratories) who tracked down a Chinese cyberespionage ring that is code-named Titan Rain by the FBI. He came to national attention when his story was reported on in the September 5, 2005 issue of Time magazine.

Shawn R. Carpenter
Occupation(s)Cyber security analyst and whistleblower

Early life edit

Carpenter served in the United States Navy for six years.

Titan Rain edit

Initial discovery edit

Carpenter was an employee of Sandia National Laboratories, investigating security breaches in its networks. However, upon tracking several breaches of Sandia, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Redstone Arsenal, and even NASA, dating back to 2003, Carpenter noticed patterns that began to appear to link the attacks to a single group. He was impressed by the meticulous, voracious, and swift manner (sometimes completed in less than 30 minutes) in which the hackers operated. Such observations led him to alert the federal government of his findings.

The Titan Rain hacking operation was first reported in an August 25, 2005 Washington Post article by Bradley Graham, which didn't mention Carpenter. Graham listed anonymous government officials as his sources.

Carpenter terminated by Sandia after refusing to drop issue edit

After informing his supervisors of the breaches, he was told that his only concern should be Sandia computers and to drop the issue. His employment was later terminated when Carpenter disobeyed his management and communicated the information about the security breaches first to United States Army Cyber Counterintelligence Special Agents. They verified his report and later brought in the FBI. The FBI requested a Senior DAC Counterintelligence agent known in the counterintelligence community by the nickname "Doc" to handle Carpenter and lead the operation on behalf of the FBI. For almost half a year, Carpenter was a confidential informant for the FBI before Sandia discovered his actions. Carpenter reportedly felt betrayed by the termination, as he viewed his actions as a service to his country, similar to his previous military service.

According to Carpenter, during his termination hearing at Sandia, Bruce Held, Sandia's chief of counterintelligence, yelled,"[you're] lucky you have such understanding management... if you worked for me, I would decapitate you! There would at least be blood all over the office!"[1] During the subsequent court case, Held testified that he did use the word "decapitate" and, while he did not recall using the word "blood," would not contest it. He also apologized.[1]

Carpenter sues Sandia edit

Carpenter sued Sandia National Laboratories for wrongful termination and defamation; a jury awarded him almost $4.7 million in compensatory and punitive damages on February 13, 2007. The jury more than doubled the punitive damages requested by Carpenter's attorneys Thad Guyer, Stephani Ayers, and Philip Davis. The 13-person New Mexico state district court jury determined that Sandia's handling of Shawn Carpenter's termination was "malicious, willful, reckless, wanton, fraudulent or in bad faith." Juror Ed Dzienis said, "If they (Sandia) have an interest in protecting us, they certainly didn't show it with the way they handled Shawn." Alex Scott, the jury forewoman, said jurors were upset by the lack of documentation of the process and by the "reckless behavior on the part of Sandia to not have adequate policies in place for employees about hacking, and the cavalier attitude about national security and global security."

Carpenter's wife, Dr. Jennifer Jacobs, testified at the trial. Jacobs, a former Sandia scientist, nuclear engineer, West Point graduate, and Army Reserve Major, said Sandia management questioned her loyalty to the company after her husband was fired. Jacobs left Sandia and was later appointed as a White House Fellow, and was a director at the United States National Security Council. In an interview with the Albuquerque Journal, Jacobs stated, "The point for us all along was this is bad for the country to have contractors like Sandia Corporation behaving this way -- with impunity. And if other citizens don't do this, it's the beginning of the end for our country. That's what we kept coming back to: This is what we have to do, because it's what we expect of others."

As of March 2007, Carpenter is employed at NetWitness Corporation, a startup headed by Amit Yoran, former director of the National Cyber Security Division within the United States Department of Homeland Security.

Sandia appeals verdict, then drops appeal edit

In March 2007, Sandia National Laboratories retained three additional attorneys at the international corporate defense firm of Baker Botts. In post-trial motions, Sandia's attorneys unsuccessfully argued to throw out the jury verdict, to reduce the judgment to zero, and for a new trial. Carpenter's attorneys successfully argued a motion for post-judgment interest. During the appeals process, Sandia was ordered to pay an interest rate of 15% per year on the final judgment of $4,742,146.66 (plus attorney fees).

On October 14, 2007, The Albuquerque Journal published a story ("Analyst, Sandia Settle Suit") that stated that Sandia had dropped its appeal of the verdict.[2] According to the story, the judgment had been accumulating 15 percent interest since the verdict in his favor in February 2007. The piece also related that Carpenter continues to work in the national security area for clients in the intelligence community, federal agencies, and the military.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Q&A: Reverse hacker describes ordeal (Computerworld) 2007-03-10 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Analyst, Sandia Settle Suit (Albuquerque Journal) 2020-09-30 at the Wayback Machine

External links edit

  • ABC News (February 19, 2013) article "Report Fingers Chinese Military Unit in US Hack Attacks"
  • Albuquerque Journal (September 15, 2005) "Battle Against Hackers Costs Employee Job"
  • Albuquerque Journal (February 14, 2007) article "Sandia Hacker Gets $4 Million: Analyst Fired For FBI Contact"
  • The New York Times (December 9, 2007) article "China Link Suspected in Lab Hacking"
  • SecurityFocus (December 10, 2007) article "National Labs Hit With Targeted Attacks"
  • Congressional correspondence: Management cover-ups and malfeasance at Sandia (December 4, 2005) blog "LANL: The Real Story"
  • The Register (February 16, 2007) article "Employee Fired For Probing Bad Guys Awarded $4.7M"
  • Project on Government Oversight (POGO) (March 1, 2007) article "Cyber-security at Risk"
  • Los Angeles Times (March 4, 2008) article "China's Computer Hacking Worries Pentagon"
  • Computerworld (October 20, 2005) article "Guard Against Titan Rain Hackers"
  • Searchsecurity.com (September 22, 2005) article "The Case of Shawn Carpenter: A Cautionary Tale"
  • The Washington Times (July 26, 2007) article "FBI Calls Chinese Espionage 'Substantial'"
  • New Mexico State Judiciary Case Lookup System database "Carpenter vs. Sandia"

December 18, 2023
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This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations October 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Shawn R Carpenter is a cyber security analyst and whistleblower previously employed by Sandia National Laboratories who tracked down a Chinese cyberespionage ring that is code named Titan Rain by the FBI He came to national attention when his story was reported on in the September 5 2005 issue of Time magazine Shawn R CarpenterOccupation s Cyber security analyst and whistleblower Contents 1 Early life 2 Titan Rain 2 1 Initial discovery 2 2 Carpenter terminated by Sandia after refusing to drop issue 2 3 Carpenter sues Sandia 2 4 Sandia appeals verdict then drops appeal 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksEarly life editCarpenter served in the United States Navy for six years Titan Rain editInitial discovery edit Carpenter was an employee of Sandia National Laboratories investigating security breaches in its networks However upon tracking several breaches of Sandia Lockheed Martin Corporation Redstone Arsenal and even NASA dating back to 2003 Carpenter noticed patterns that began to appear to link the attacks to a single group He was impressed by the meticulous voracious and swift manner sometimes completed in less than 30 minutes in which the hackers operated Such observations led him to alert the federal government of his findings The Titan Rain hacking operation was first reported in an August 25 2005Washington Post article by Bradley Graham which didn t mention Carpenter Graham listed anonymous government officials as his sources Carpenter terminated by Sandia after refusing to drop issue edit After informing his supervisors of the breaches he was told that his only concern should be Sandia computers and to drop the issue His employment was later terminated when Carpenter disobeyed his management and communicated the information about the security breaches first to United States Army Cyber Counterintelligence Special Agents They verified his report and later brought in the FBI The FBI requested a Senior DAC Counterintelligence agent known in the counterintelligence community by the nickname Doc to handle Carpenter and lead the operation on behalf of the FBI For almost half a year Carpenter was a confidential informant for the FBI before Sandia discovered his actions Carpenter reportedly felt betrayed by the termination as he viewed his actions as a service to his country similar to his previous military service According to Carpenter during his termination hearing at Sandia Bruce Held Sandia s chief of counterintelligence yelled you re lucky you have such understanding management if you worked for me I would decapitate you There would at least be blood all over the office 1 During the subsequent court case Held testified that he did use the word decapitate and while he did not recall using the word blood would not contest it He also apologized 1 Carpenter sues Sandia edit Carpenter sued Sandia National Laboratories for wrongful termination and defamation a jury awarded him almost 4 7 million in compensatory and punitive damages on February 13 2007 The jury more than doubled the punitive damages requested by Carpenter s attorneys Thad Guyer Stephani Ayers and Philip Davis The 13 person New Mexico state district court jury determined that Sandia s handling of Shawn Carpenter s termination was malicious willful reckless wanton fraudulent or in bad faith Juror Ed Dzienis said If they Sandia have an interest in protecting us they certainly didn t show it with the way they handled Shawn Alex Scott the jury forewoman said jurors were upset by the lack of documentation of the process and by the reckless behavior on the part of Sandia to not have adequate policies in place for employees about hacking and the cavalier attitude about national security and global security Carpenter s wife Dr Jennifer Jacobs testified at the trial Jacobs a former Sandia scientist nuclear engineer West Point graduate and Army Reserve Major said Sandia management questioned her loyalty to the company after her husband was fired Jacobs left Sandia and was later appointed as a White House Fellow and was a director at the United States National Security Council In an interview with the Albuquerque Journal Jacobs stated The point for us all along was this is bad for the country to have contractors like Sandia Corporation behaving this way with impunity And if other citizens don t do this it s the beginning of the end for our country That s what we kept coming back to This is what we have to do because it s what we expect of others As of March 2007 update Carpenter is employed at NetWitness Corporation a startup headed by Amit Yoran former director of the National Cyber Security Division within the United States Department of Homeland Security Sandia appeals verdict then drops appeal edit In March 2007 Sandia National Laboratories retained three additional attorneys at the international corporate defense firm of Baker Botts In post trial motions Sandia s attorneys unsuccessfully argued to throw out the jury verdict to reduce the judgment to zero and for a new trial Carpenter s attorneys successfully argued a motion for post judgment interest During the appeals process Sandia was ordered to pay an interest rate of 15 per year on the final judgment of 4 742 146 66 plus attorney fees On October 14 2007 The Albuquerque Journal published a story Analyst Sandia Settle Suit that stated that Sandia had dropped its appeal of the verdict 2 According to the story the judgment had been accumulating 15 percent interest since the verdict in his favor in February 2007 The piece also related that Carpenter continues to work in the national security area for clients in the intelligence community federal agencies and the military See also editTimeline of Cox Report controversy Cyber warfare National Security Whistleblowers CoalitionReferences edit a b Q amp A Reverse hacker describes ordeal Computerworld Archived 2007 03 10 at the Wayback Machine Analyst Sandia Settle Suit Albuquerque Journal Archived 2020 09 30 at the Wayback MachineExternal links editABC News February 19 2013 article Report Fingers Chinese Military Unit in US Hack Attacks TIME Magazine September 5 2005 issue article The Invasion Of The Chinese Cyberspies And the Man Who Tried to Stop Them TIME Magazine online August 25 2005 article Inside the Chinese Hack Attack Albuquerque Journal September 15 2005 Battle Against Hackers Costs Employee Job Albuquerque Journal February 14 2007 article Sandia Hacker Gets 4 Million Analyst Fired For FBI Contact Computerworld February 26 2007 article Q amp A Reverse Hacker Describes Ordeal The New York Times December 9 2007 article China Link Suspected in Lab Hacking SecurityFocus December 10 2007 article National Labs Hit With Targeted Attacks ABC News February 26 2007 report Jury Slaps Defense Giant for Neglecting National Security TIME Magazine online February 14 2007 article A Security Analyst Wins Big in Court Congressional correspondence Management cover ups and malfeasance at Sandia December 4 2005 blog LANL The Real Story The Register February 16 2007 article Employee Fired For Probing Bad Guys Awarded 4 7M Project on Government Oversight POGO March 1 2007 article Cyber security at Risk Los Angeles Times March 4 2008 article China s Computer Hacking Worries Pentagon Computerworld April 17 2007 article Reverse Hacker Case Gets Costlier for Sandia Labs Computerworld October 20 2005 article Guard Against Titan Rain Hackers Searchsecurity com September 22 2005 article The Case of Shawn Carpenter A Cautionary Tale The Washington Times July 26 2007 article FBI Calls Chinese Espionage Substantial New Mexico State Judiciary Case Lookup System database Carpenter vs Sandia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shawn Carpenter amp oldid 1168009242, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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