August 4th, 2009
Marines ban Facebook, Twitter
ACCESS IS HEREBY PROHIBITED TO INTERNET SNS FROM THE MCEN NIPRNET, INCLUDING OVER VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORK (VPN) CONNECTIONS.
So goes the Marine Corps’ directive banning Facebook, Twitter and all other social networks from military networks.
THESE INTERNET SITES IN GENERAL ARE A PROVEN HAVEN FOR MALICIOUS ACTORS AND CONTENT AND ARE PARTICULARLY HIGH RISK DUE TO INFORMATION EXPOSURE, USER GENERATED CONTENT AND TARGETING BY ADVERSARIES. THE VERY NATURE OF SNS CREATES A LARGER ATTACK AND EXPLOITATION WINDOW, EXPOSES UNNECESSARY INFORMATION TO ADVERSARIES AND PROVIDES AN EASY CONDUIT FOR INFORMATION LEAKAGE THAT
PUTS OPSEC, COMSEC, PERSONNEL AND THE MCEN AT AN ELEVATED RISK OF COMPROMISE.
This is a security measure, not an attack on social networks, a Marines spokesman told Computerworld.
The Marine Corps has got to find a balance between security and letting Marines capitalize on the technology. We don’t want information leaks and we want to keep Marines focused on the mission at work and we wanted to save bandwidth. We’re trying to find the fine line.
You can’t have someone posting, “Hey, we’re leaving on this date and at this time.” Believe me, the enemy is checking out what you guys are reporting and what service men and women are saying online. The Marine Corps instills operational security. They need to be cognizant of what they’re saying, whether verbally or what they’re saying on social networking sites.
