Effective immediately, the U.S. Marine Corps has banned Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and other Social Networking Sites (SNS) from its networks for one year, according to a recently issued order.
Citing security concerns, the Marine Corps order defines SNS as “web-based services that allow communities of people to share common interests and/or experiences existing outside of Department of Defense (DOD)” that are a “haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure, user generated content, and targeting by adversaries.”
Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter are singled out as examples of SNS in the issued order, which states that a social networking site by its very nature “creates a larger attack and exploitation window, exposes unnecessary information to adversaries, and provides an easy conduit for information leakage” that can elevate the risk of compromise.
While the banning of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, or any other social networking site for a year may seem severe, those non-military individuals using social networking sites would be to wise to check if any of the security concerns of the Marine Corps could apply to their own personal and/or professional lives.
For example, “malicious actors and content” could easily apply to identity thieves and phishers who use “information exposure” by members of Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter that allow “targeting by adversaries.” Individuals who value their personal information and professional reputations should also be wary of web sites – including incredibly popular ones like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter – that help create an “attack and exploitation window” to expose “information to adversaries” and enable “information leakage.”
While enjoying the obvious benefits of social networking, members of sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter may want to protect themselves by keeping their guard up and being on the lookout for possible acts of identity theft and phishing (the criminally fraudulent attempt to acquire sensitive information in an electronic communication).
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tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com