WTF? CIA sets up WikiLeaks Task Force

The CIA has set up a task force to be known by the acronym WTF to assess what damage has been done by the mass release of thousands of diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks.

The WikiLeaks Task Force will "examine whether the latest release of WikiLeaks documents might affect the agency's foreign relationships or operations," CIA spokesman George Little said.

Few of the thousands of confidential documents leaked by WikiLeaks were from the CIA, but many were secret communications by high ranking diplomats discussing sensitive questions of world and US affairs.

The task force, headed by the CIA's Counterintelligence Center, is to make an inventory of the leaked cables and will report on the impact of the leaks, particularly regarding the ability to recruit of informants, a source who asked not to be named said.

Some of the leaked documents originated on the protected SIPRNET, or Secret internet Protocol Router Network, which is used to share classified information between different government branches.

The embarrassing saga could lead to a tightening of the rules for sharing, the source said. "The recent WikiLeaks episode points to the serious need for our government to look closely at whether it might be time for need-to-know to make a comeback."