DOD To Investigate Use Of Social Media
The US Department of Defense is investigating the use of social networking sites to ensure that posted material does not waste bandwidth or reveal crucial guarded information.
The Pentagon has already begun using the popular networking sites Facebook and Twitter. Last month, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, began “tweeting” on microblogging site Twitter.
Lieutenant Charlie Drey, a spokesman for US Strategic Command said the Defense Department’s use of such social networks is under review in order to ensure security.
"The concept of allowing access to social networking sites (SNS) on the Department of Defense .mil networks is currently under review at this time," Drey said in a statement.
"It would be premature to comment on the outcome of the review."
According to AFP, the review has been launched due to concerns over the use of Web 2.0 sites, which contain more vulnerability for hackers to exploit.
"There has been no decision from senior DoD (Department of Defense) leadership to block access across the board to all social networking sites," said Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Eric Butterbaugh, adding that the government was determining "the requirements, vulnerabilities and risk mitigations" of social media Web sites.
"However, as with any Internet-based capabilities, in addition to the merits and benefits, there are implementation challenges and operational risks that must be understood and mitigated," said Butterbaugh.
Wired magazine’s blog Danger Room reported that Strategic Command has warned of a possible ban on social media from the Pentagon’s network, NIPRNet.
The blog added that the armed services is weighing an option to allow the use of social media solely on computers from media and recruiting offices rather than the Pentagon’s networks.
Internet criminals are being increasingly drawn to social networks like Facebook and MySpace due to the relative ease of gathering personal information.
Experts have warned of a virus known as Koobface, which has targeted users on Facebook and Twitter.
Koobface works by taking control of Facebook and Twitter accounts and spamming friends with messages containing links to sites that are equipped with malware traps.
Earlier this month, a report from security firm Sophos found that about half of all companies in the United States block some or all access to them because of security concerns.
Photo Credit: Christian Marquardt (Joint Multinational Training Command)
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