MoD staff reveal secret information on Facebook

 

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Posted on 25 Jan 2010 at 12:10

Over the last 18 months, military personnel and Ministry of Defence staff have been responsible for 16 leaks of secret information via social networking sites, while a further 10 service personnel have been disciplined for their use of sites like Twitter and Facebook, according to the response to a recent Freedom of Information request. The MoD refused to comment on whether the leaks related to operational issues.

That this happens is hardly surprising – many of us post without any real thought, simply wanting to include our friends in the latest news. However, as Mikko Hypponen, of software security company F-Secure, points out:

"They might think they are confiding in friends or family when they go on Facebook. However, the recent changes in Facebook's privacy settings might make them disclose information to the world. This is a potential security risk."

Like many employers, the MoD blocks staff from accessing such sites from its main computer networks. When Steven George of Lewis PR filed a Freedom of Information request with the MoD, the response revealed the following:

"Within the MoD there are a (proportionally very small) number of computers dedicated for business use, outside our major networks, that connect directly to the Internet. These may allow access to Social Networking sites (as they do not go through the same filter), and some of these machines may have occasionally been used to access social networking sites, but no central records are held of the amount of time that each of these machines access particular websites."

MoD staff are required to adhere to guideline about their online behaviour, although they are not barred from having personal accounts on social networking sites, although a code of conduct instructs employees to "Observe the same high standard of conduct and behaviour online as would be expected of you in your professional or personal life."

The department's online engagement guidelines, published last August, stipulate that service and MOD civilian personnel need clearance from their bosses before publishing any information which:

* Relates to operations or deployments:

* Offers opinions on wider Defence and Armed Forces activity, or on third parties without their permission; or

* Attempts to speak, or could be interpreted as speaking, on behalf of their service or the MoD; or,

* Relates to controversial, sensitive or political matters.

With technology and online media so seamlessly integrated into both our personal and working lives, as well as the inherent confusion of internet privacy issues, it's inevitable that the line between acceptable private and public posting will become blurred from time to time. However, in the case of the armed forces, as Mikko Hypponen points out, "loose Tweets can cost lives."

Author: Kat Orphanides