"Tweets" spark OPSEC awareness

  • Published
  • By Jasmine DeNamur
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  With the social media revolution exploding, more and more Airmen are exploring ways to streamline the way they keep in touch with friends and family, and they may be including more than their closest allies.

The newest member of this phenomenon is Twitter, a web-based tool where users can send 140-character posts also known as "tweets" to other network users. Unlike Facebook and MySpace, these instantaneous updates can be sent through virtually any device, to include mobile phones, greatly increasing online blogging to real-time speed.

As innocent as they sound, these microblogging posts could compromise national security or worse - put lives in danger, and the substantial growth in their popularity has more than "Twitteurs" sitting at the edge of their seats.

"We are keeping a very close watch on Twitter and how it's used by our Airmen," said Ralph Milone, Eglin Operations Security and Military Deception program manager. "When you leave the door to your life wide open, you don't know what may escape or who may come in."

The program allows users to control the level of access other users called "followers" are granted, which can range anywhere from a small group of friends to a global audience.

"What concerns us about the program is it allows hosts to grant unbiased access to personal information. This could make the user more vulnerable to adversaries patrolling the site for sensitive data," said Mr. Milone.

Sensitive information includes aspects of a member's personal or work life that can be used to compromise identities, government programs, and national interests. Examples of this privileged information include a range of commonplace items such as phone numbers, addresses, schedules, and records.

"Just because information isn't classified, doesn't mean it can't be used against a member. Followers may befriend the host to gain confidence and then solicit information through casual conversation that would normally not be provided under a watchful setting," said Mr. Milone. "Consider an Airman who is deployed posting tweets of his time overseas. He's not only threatening the mission and the lives of those around him, but is also putting the lives of loved ones at the helm of a mortal tug-of-war, giving adversaries the leeway to harass him for possible classified information or at least critical information in turn for the safety of his family."

The disclosure of information is not limited to direct program connectivity. Hackers, spyware and viruses feed off of social programs like Twitter. In fact, the Web site is not accessible through a Department of Defense computer network.

"Even through the most protected networks, information should never be considered safe or private. There is no telling if others have access to the same account or if bystanders are simply reading over your shoulder," said Mr. Milone.

Despite the program's potential threat to information protection, it has been proven a useful tool in streamlining media. Air Force public affairs offices have already taken advantage of the service, using Twitter to publicize the latest news and events happening in today's military.

In fact, members used the service to announce the winners of the 2009 Air Force Material Command Enlisted Awards simultaneously as Airmen were being selected at a ceremony in April. Other installations such as Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, and Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., have embraced the new media to push the Air Force and its mission into the public eye.

"Employing social media to communicate with people outside the Air Force about the Air Force is without doubt a viable resource when done correctly and with caution," said Mr. Milone. "Our goal is to educate our Airmen on what not to advertise to the public - especially the newer, younger techno-savvy recruits."