The arrest of a Canadian NATO intern on espionage charges exposes a glaring gap in security screening — someone with a prior fraud finding by Canada's Public Service Commission still got cleared to work at SHAPE's IT department. NATO's internship program is a structural vulnerability, and the fact that SHAPE's own security services had to flag her behavior proves the vetting process failed before it even started. Canada needs to overhaul how clearances are granted, not just promise reviews after the damage is done.
This arrest is proof that counter-espionage works — SHAPE's security services caught suspicious behavior, flagged it to Belgian intelligence, and the system responded. The real danger isn't just one intern; hostile states use criminal networks and trusted insiders to gather intelligence without ever touching a classified file, and Canada's screening process missed red flags that were already in federal court records. Clearances must be treated as ongoing assessments, not one-time stamps of approval.
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