U.S. looking over Canada’s shoulder in wake of navy spy scandal: sources

OTTAWA – Defence and security sources say the United States carried out a rigorous followup with key Canadian military intelligence centres in the wake of a navy spy scandal to ensure stricter security protocols had been enacted.

A military source says U.S. liaison officers on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts were asked to verify that enhanced compliance and accountability measures for the handling of shared intelligence were in place and working.

The increased oversight comes as a result of lapses that allowed former sub-lieutenant Jeffrey Delisle, 42, to use a floppy disk and thumb drive to copy and smuggle top secret information out of a Halifax intelligence centre known as Trinity.

Delisle, arrested in January 2012 by the RCMP, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to passing classified material to Russia in exchange for cash on a regular basis for more than four years.

The Canadian Press revealed this week that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service had Delisle under surveillance for months in 2011 before the RCMP stepped in to build a criminal case.

During that period, CSIS was aware of the classified secrets — including the precise content of documents — that Delisle routinely provided to Moscow.