What Not to PostApril 02, 2008
Air Force Print News|by Ashley M. Wright
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. - Your location on a friend network, a photo on Facebook, a prayer for a deployed family member on a military-based blog -- all posted on the World Wide Web with the intent to bring comfort to loved ones and news to friends. This information may seem harmless, but when put together these puzzle pieces show a picture with more information than military members should share.
To demonstrate the amount of information available, Col. Andy Pears, director of Communications and Information for Air University, became a "completely fictional" staff sergeant on a social networking site designed for military members. The colonel said he had no trouble creating a profile and false identity.
With a few mouse clicks, Colonel Pears found combat and operations histories, pictures from inside deployed locations, descriptions and duties within that location and details about military members receiving medals. There was never an attempt to confirm military affiliation, he said.
"You look at this kid right here," the colonel said, pointing to a picture of a uniformed man posing against a concrete wall. "The enemy may already have his name and information about his family."
Great Britain's security service recently found hundreds of false accounts belonging to Al-Qaeda members on social networking sites, according to a briefing prepared by Colonel Pears' office. British service members were advised to remove personnel details from those social networking sites.
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