They're just not trained to think that way, and they're lax. But that's no excuse for not riding hard on them. It's very difficult to keep up the kind of semi-paranoid attitude that makes you keep your secrets secure. Especially in a time of general peace and prosperity. There's a natural, unavoidable tension between the desires and the needs of scientists and the legitimate concerns of security personnel.
Scientists essentially try to uncover secrets in a collaborative environment.
Without openness, it's hard to push back the curtain of ignorance, which is what scientists aim to do. It's hard to advance at the same time when scientists are working on matters related to national security, when secrecy is critical. So there is this tension that you can't avoid. But Los Alamos spokesman Jim Danneskiold thinks that tension is overstated. Security is part of everybody's job here.