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Military Files Left Unprotected Online
Christopher Freeman looks at a government FTP site at his home in Greensboro, N.C., Thursday, June 28, 2007. Freeman has spent several years looking for government and contractor-run FTP sites he thinks should be secure. (AP Photo/Lynn Hey)
Sensitive Documents Unprotected Online
ON THE NET: An Associated Press survey of file transfer protocol servers run by several government agencies and contractors affiliated with the military found dozens of documents that officials deemed sensitive to U.S. troops.
THE CONCERN: The documents include details on U.S. bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Others illustrate advanced military technologies. Agencies declined to release the files when asked for them directly, even though they were accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.
THE REACTION: The Army Corps of Engineers changed its policies following the AP's inquiry. Other agencies and contractors contacted by the AP have either shut down their FTP servers, secured them with a password or pledged to install other safeguards to ensure such material is no longer accessible.
Sensitive Documents Unprotected Online
ON THE NET: An Associated Press survey of file transfer protocol servers run by several government agencies and contractors affiliated with the military found dozens of documents that officials deemed sensitive to U.S. troops.
THE CONCERN: The documents include details on U.S. bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Others illustrate advanced military technologies. Agencies declined to release the files when asked for them directly, even though they were accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.
THE REACTION: The Army Corps of Engineers changed its policies following the AP's inquiry. Other agencies and contractors contacted by the AP have either shut down their FTP servers, secured them with a password or pledged to install other safeguards to ensure such material is no longer accessible.
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- Public Discussion (2)
Why isn't this bigger news? If a corporation left info. like this out there about customers (i.e. TJX), people would be screaming and Wall Street would be selling. These agencies are leaving out data that can compromise the safety of American personnel, and there's no uproar? Really?
- 2 votes
#1 - Thu Jul 12, 2007 11:42 AM EDTWell, maybe people are so inured to governmental data-mishandling that they don't care any more.
Of course, one could point out that nobody's been arrested for making these mistakes, they've "promised to do better" so it's obvious that nobody in the government thinks it really a problem. If the president and technical officers of Benham and SRA had been arrested and jailed under the suspicion of aiding and abetting terrorism, maybe we would see just a little more interest in things. If the chief technical person at the Corps of Engineers was now in Guantanamo, maybe some people would take notice. But in reality, nothing has happened, so where's the news?
Pathetic on all counts.
- 2 votes
#2 - Thu Jul 12, 2007 12:48 PM EDTYou're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead. |
