MoD Videos Warn Of The Perils Of Twitter

The Ministry Of Defence (MoD) has begun a video campaign to warn servicemen and women of the security risks posed by social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook.

The MoD videos are available on its YouTube channel here and here. Two more videos are planned apparently, one by the end of the month and another in July.

In the first video two female Navy personnel are Tweeting and using Foursquare about their night out on the town. The video asks who else knows about their location. “Is it just your mates who know where you’ve checked in?”

The second video shows a mother posting a message on Facebook about her airman son who is serving in Afghanistan. She informs Facebook that her son told her he is expecting a VIP soon to visit his base in Afghanistan. Then the doorbell rings and a man wearing a balaclava, camouflage gear etc comes in and drinks a cup of tea as she shows him photos of her son.

The video warns: “It may not just be friends and family reading your status updates.”

Loose Lips Sink Ships

“Social networking sites are great for keeping in touch with family and friends, and letting the world know what you’re up to,” said an MoD blog on the subject. “Remember that there may be those who are using such sites for unsavoury reasons. These range from criminals looking for ways to con you or steal your identity, to those who may wish us harm. While it is unlikely that you’ll fall victim, you should be aware of the risk.”

It also warned service personnel to be aware of how much information there is online about them, from postings by other people or organisations. “You need to be especially careful if you have identified yourself as being a member of the military or an MOD civilian,” it warned.

“It can be simple to collate information from various sources in order to build up a picture of who a person is,” the MoD said. “Similarly it might only take one careless comment, or posting a picture without checking what’s in the background to put friends and colleagues at risk.”

UK/US Approach

The videos bear a remarkable resemblance to a propaganda campaign in the UK during the Second World War, in which British people were told that “Careless talk costs lives”. In the United States, Americans were told “Loose Lips Sinks Ships.”

More recently, two countries have been exploring the use of social networks in military situations. The US Department of Defense (DoD) relaxed its strict regulations on the use of Twitter and Facebook in March 2010, when it announced that US military personnel could use social networking sites following a review.

UK forces, meanwhile, have had a more progressive and less strict stance to social networking.

Back in August 2009 the Ministry of Defence essentially backed the use of social networking technology when it issued its “Online Engagement Guidelines” for social networks, that gave specific guidelines on how personnel were to use the technology safely and securely.

But in January 2010 the MoD was caught out when it admitted that staff had leaked secrets on Facebook and Twitter. All it said at that time was that confidential information had been leaked on social media sites and the Internet at least 16 times in the past 18 months.

It also said that ten personnel had been disciplined.