Internet Use by soldier can Lead to Security Threat

According to the news reported by KTKA on May 22, 2008, the US Military staff has warned that the use of Internet can make the network of Fort Riley Military Reservation more susceptible to attacks and hacking.

The Fort Riley information management claimed that the soldiers make use of various methods to interact with their family, like e-mail. But these methods could potentially result in jeopardizing the national security.

Lance Sheldon from Fort Riley information management said that users generally discuss matters openly on Web and they don't even know the person on other side. Lance also added that people do not care about security much when they are conducting everyday business, as per the news of KTKA on May 22, 2008.

Lance and his staff make the soldiers aware about the importance of restricting the information on Internet. They don't even want the soldiers to blog about their details of going home. Lance also advised that soldiers should not display about their routine and schedules which, if ignored, can result in a major problem. The opponent or enemy or whatsoever will get all the details.

The military also prohibits the use of some specific sites for post holders and also executive restrictions for soldiers abroad. Solders are also asked not to access sites like Facebook or MySpace as it will make them vulnerable to attacks.

Lance said that several families depend on theses sites to interact, so they conduct a report about what they feel if these tools have to be denounced by their loved ones. Lance also claimed that no doubt there is always a threat of terrorist but the major danger is from an internal spy as he can exploit the details on the sites.

Besides, Internet threats are a major challenge for the US army. Information exchange, digitalized documents and business transactions shows that the cyber security is the need of the hour. Analyzing the flaws, in a decision Judge Royce C. Lamberth, US District Court, ordered the Interior Department Secretary Dirk Kempthorne in 2001 to disconnect its Internet connections.

Related article: Internet Threat Volumes Overwhelm Security Companies

» SPAMfighter News - 5/31/2008