A Social Network Happy Medium

Maj. Gen. Hank Morrow, commander of Air Force North, which is responsible for defending U.S. airspace, thinks a common sense approach to using social network sites such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube can assure security that will allow service members to continue relying on the communications tools.

Morrow wrote last week that airmen need to understand that when they post messages to a social networking site the information is available not only to family and friends - who are typically the intended audience - but a potential enemy.

"The bad guys are out there watching us, too, reading all the information you post to your personal site, and what's posted to your buddy's site, and to the Air Force Chief of Staff's site, and so on," he said. "They put all the bits of information together like a puzzle. It's known as data mining and our enemies are constantly monitoring what we post to the Web."

Airmen need to exercise prudence in what they post, keeping operational security in mind when, for example, they write from a deployed location, Morrow said. He suggested that troops apply the acronym SAPP, which stands for security, accuracy, policy and privacy, before posting to a social network site.

"The SAPP principle is an easy one to remember when you're about to blog about an upcoming deployment or a recent court martial in your unit or the rumor you heard in the squadron break room," Morrow wrote. "Is the information accurate? Can you back it up with facts? Are you compromising operational security by releasing this information? Are you violating someone's privacy by blogging about him or her?" Those are all good reminders before hitting the send button.

Finally, before posting a photo or comment on a social networking site, he reminded his personnel, "Anything you post to the Internet -- including photos -- will be there forever. Do you really want to post a picture of yourself that could place you, your family, or your unit in harm's way?" Morrow asked.

"Think before you post," he concluded, "and if you are ever in doubt about what you are about to let the world see or read about -- delete it. Go with your instincts. Refer back to my rule number one -- use your common sense."