“Curious” Navy sailor tried to entry Biden’s medical information as colleagues “freaked out,” investigation exhibits

Pushed by “curiosity,” a U.S. Navy corpsman tried to entry President Biden’s medical information final 12 months following a bunch dialogue along with his colleagues about navy safety protocols for utilizing authorities computer systems, in accordance with the federal prison investigation obtained by CBS Information. 

In July, CBS Information reported a junior U.S. Navy sailor tried to realize entry to Mr. Biden’s medical information however was unable to take action and was subsequently administratively reprimanded for the unauthorized question. 

CBS Information filed a Freedom of Info Act request with the Naval Prison Investigative Service, the civilian legislation enforcement company liable for prison investigations inside the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. On Friday, NCIS launched its closed investigation to CBS Information. 

The investigation particulars how a low-ranking U.S. Navy corpsman tried to entry the president’s medical information and the penalty he acquired for doing so — a nonjudicial punishment for dereliction of obligation below the Uniform Code of Navy Justice, the legal guidelines and rules governing the U.S. navy. 

The corpsman, whose identify the Navy is not going to disclose, was demoted in rank to E-2 from E-3, given 20 days of additional obligation and solely acquired half pay for the following six months. Base pay for an E-2 with two to 3 years of service is roughly $2,260 per thirty days. 

On the afternoon of Feb. 22, in accordance with the NCIS paperwork, the Navy corpsman sat at his desk, surrounded by the regular hum of computer systems and the murmurs of his coworkers on the Naval Medical Readiness and Coaching Heart at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. A civilian described as a licensed nurse and a U.S. Military soldier labored close by. 

The scene was commonplace bureaucratic fare till a close-by colleague left her workstation, leaving her Widespread Entry Card, or CAC, behind — which was nonetheless logged into her account. This small, unassuming piece of plastic, roughly the scale of a bank card, is described by the Protection Division as a “sensible” key, granting entry to the whole lot from locked doorways to navy pc networks. 

The group of medical professionals struck up a dialog and began speaking in regards to the safety danger of leaving a CAC unattended in a pc. 

One of many unnamed people identified the evident vulnerability: “Somebody might maliciously use your CAC if you stroll away,” they mentioned, in accordance with the narrative of the group dialogue inside the NCIS investigation. 

One other voice within the group floated the concept that somebody might use an unattended CAC account to eavesdrop on the president’s medical information. The notion hung within the air. The Navy corpsman responded with obvious disbelief — might he truly pull up the medical information for the president of the USA? He determined to check it, in accordance with the NCIS investigation. 

The Navy corpsman instructed NCIS investigators he was pushed by curiosity, so he pulled up the affected person search database within the Genesis Medical Well being System — the database for the navy medical system — and typed within the identify “Joseph Biden.” 

A single report with the identify “Joseph Biden” appeared, with a birthdate connected. The NCIS investigation said that when the file popped up, the Navy corpsman and his coworkers have been “freaked out,” with one in every of his colleagues strolling away from the pc. 

The Navy corpsman then turned to Google to lookup Mr. Biden’s birthdate, and noticed that it matched the birthdate on the medical file. He clicked into the report to see what info was inside. 

The corpsman would later inform NCIS investigators that “there was not a whole lot of info within the report, besides two cases,” and “[he] didn’t bear in mind the specifics of the cases, however remembered a physician’s identify was listed.” The corpsman turned to Google once more and looked for the identify of Mr. Biden’s physician, which didn’t match the identify listed on the Genesis report, in accordance with the investigation. 

The corpsman instructed NCIS brokers that he realized at this level he ought to cease trying on the report and closed out the file. A forensic evaluation confirmed that the “Joseph Biden” file was accessed for about 20 seconds, between 1:22 p.m. and 1:23 p.m. 

A feminine colleague, who was conscious the corpsman searched the system for the president, suggested him to report himself to his supervisor. The corpsman said he knew he was going to be reported for violating the Well being Insurance coverage Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, the federal legislation designed to guard sufferers’ well being info. 

He did not instantly report himself, however instructed investigators he felt responsible so he reported himself the following morning. By then, nonetheless, one other colleague had already reported the violation up the chain of command. The corpsman waived his rights and confessed to accessing the report out of curiosity. 

The corpsman mentioned he didn’t “print, save, e-mail, obtain, {photograph}, or in any other case doc the report.” One other colleague instructed investigators they’d by no means heard the corpsman specific “something about his political views or background,” and that he was “nonchalant” till the file popped up, describing him as “freaked out.” 

The Naval Prison Investigative Service launched its investigation on Feb. 26. On Feb. 27, the deputy director of the White Home medical unit — recognized as a U.S. Military officer within the NCIS report — instructed investigators that the report accessed by the corpsman was not a respectable digital well being report of the president. 

The president was knowledgeable in regards to the sailor’s makes an attempt to entry his medical information inside hours of White Home employees being notified in regards to the tried breach by the Protection Division, a White Home official instructed CBS Information in July. 

The president underwent his annual bodily at Walter Reed on Feb. 28, two days after the Navy’s prison investigation started. The president was deemed “match for obligation” by his physician after the bodily that lasted about two and a half hours.

NCIS brokers additionally regarded via the corpsman’s social media accounts. Brokers discovered that his profile image on Instagram, when run although a reverse picture search, “revealed imagery probably related to the net ‘hactivist’ group Nameless.” It is not clear from the investigation if any precise hyperlink was confirmed by NCIS brokers between the corpsman and Nameless. 

The corpsman’s MSI laptop computer and Apple iPhone have been seized by NCIS investigators, with the corpsman cooperating totally. The laptop computer’s web browser historical past confirmed that the sailor performed searches for “Biden, Physician, Flights, Nameless, President, POTUS.” A textual content message exhibits the corpsman telling an unnamed individual that he “regarded up Joe Biden.” The laptop computer and cellphone have been later returned. 

Not one of the others current in the course of the incident are reported to have been disciplined. 

Learn the NCIS investigative report right here: