Probes of data leaks by FBI, SEC caused Labor Department to overhaul jobs data release plan

By Daniel Wagner

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Labor Department has tightened security to prevent the possible leak of potentially valuable economic data before it’s scheduled to be published by news organizations.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are among the authorities that looked into the possible leaks, the department disclosed Tuesday.

It’s unclear whether any of the probes are continuing or have resulted in any charges. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But the investigations have led the Labor Department to tighten security surrounding its release of economic data, including the monthly employment report.

The room where news organizations, including The Associated Press, receive embargoed copies of the jobs report is supposed to be secure. But it suffered from security flaws, according to a report Tuesday on the Labor Department’s website.

The report outlines ways that journalists could leak the data early but didn’t suggest that any had. Recipients of such data could have made money by trading improperly on the information.

The Canadian government launched a probe in December 2010 after the Bloomberg news agency informed Statistics Canada that it could access embargoed data in advance of the official release.

The Canadian agency determined a programming glitch had enabled three of its secondary distributors to get the information almost a minute before it was supposed to be released.

Government agencies arrange “lock-ups” to give reporters 30 to 60 minutes to review economic data and prepare news stories before the data are publicly released.

At Labour, reporters turn over their cellphones to departmental staff, have no Internet access and can’t leave the room before the data are made public.

The department says it commissioned a report after it was approached by regulatory agencies concerned that the data might be vulnerable to leaks.

The report says Labor officials raised concerns that data might be leaked to high-frequency stock traders. It notes that high-speed traders can profit from having the data even a split-second before its public release. The department has revoked access for several news outlets that serve high-frequency stock traders.

The review was conducted by Sandia National Laboratories, a government contractor that safeguards the nation’s nuclear secrets and performs other security services. Many details of the report were blacked out, including the types of leaks anticipated by Sandia’s team. But it contains recommendations issued to the department to prevent those kinds of leaks.

An SEC spokesman had no immediate comment on the report.

— includes a report from The Canadian Press

14:04ET 10-07-12