The Boston Globe's Bryan Bender reported Friday that federal investigators "have identified several dozen Pentagon officials and contractors with high-level security clearances who allegedly purchased and downloaded child pornography, including an undisclosed number who used their government computers to obtain the illegal material."

Employees under investigation have included individuals from "the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency -- which deal with some of the most sensitive work in intelligence and defense -- among other organizations within the Defense Department," the Globe reported, citing investigative reports.

Many of the cases date back several years. Some of them remain open.

"The fact that offenders include people with access to government secrets puts national security agencies 'at risk of blackmail, bribery, and threats, especially since these individuals typically have access to military installations,' according to one report by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service from late 2009," the Globe wrote.

The Department of Defense inspector general's office publicly released the DCIS report and posted it online late Friday morning.