Intel gathering

What's Next For Intelligence Gathering In China After Leak Of CIA Confidential Information

KELLY: I mean, I called this episode one of the worst intelligence breaches in decades. How grave is the damage to CIA operations?

WILDER: Well, honestly, without a little more information, it is hard to gauge. The most secret inner-sanctum of any intelligence agency is the names of the people who have agreed to commit treason against their own governments. Someone taking those names and giving them to a foreign power will mean that people die. It will mean that their families are in jeopardy. It is one of the most serious morale-busting things that can happen.

KELLY: Morale-busting, and I assume there's always that concern as well that it will discourage people from cooperating with the CIA in future, whether those are sources in China or elsewhere in the world.

WILDER: Absolutely. And one of the things that would have happened in this case, depending on exactly when he handed over information - and in fact we don't even know for sure that he handed it over, but let's assume he handed it over. If he had handed it over, hopefully it was after 2012, not before 2012.