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From...
Does the Pentagon's Web site compromise national security?
September 21, 1998
Web posted at 2:45 PM EDT
by Sharon Machlis
(IDG)
-- Top Pentagon officials are scouring military Web sites to see if too
much information is being made public -- data that could potentially help
the country's enemies.
Some observers fear that listing members of specific military units could help terrorists find revenge targets, for example, particularly after an operation such as the recent missile strikes in Afghanistan and the Sudan.
"Basically, the military does stupid things," said Ira Winkler, a former analyst at the National Security Agency and author of the books "Corporate Espionage" and "Through the Eyes of the Enemy."
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"The military does not exercise good operational security when it comes to their Web sites ... There's no valid reason for a military unit to have a Web site," Winkler said.
Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre and the military's Joint Staff have been checking for Web postings such as building plans, research and development efforts and "personnel information that could perhaps provide too much information," said Defense Department spokesman Kenneth Bacon, in a statement.
A more formal, militarywide policy on what should and shouldn't be put on the Web is in the works, added department spokesman Susan Hansen.
Winkler said it is ill-advised to post things such as personnel lists or commanders' biographies -- which often include family information -- on the Web. He also recommended against companies posting similar information about corporate officers.
In fact, some companies already restrict the data they post about personnel and even product pricing -- although the concern is less about terrorists and more about competitors.
"We're in the process now, as I believe many private companies are, of trying to sort out what the right balance is between providing useful information and providing more information than is necessary," Bacon said.