Air Force opens door to social media sites Published May 6, 2010 By Monica Mendoza 21st Space Wing Public Affairs staff writer PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- There is something new on government computers: social media Web sites. These sites, such as Facebook, Linkedin, Hi5, Twitter and MySpace, had been banned from access on government computers. But, starting in April, Air Force officials began to phase in access to social media sites on its non-classified network and Peterson employees noticed the change April 26. "Social networks allow users to create, strengthen, and renew professional and personal friendships in a way unique to the digital information age," said 1st Lt. Paul Wilcox, 21st Communications Squadron deputy operations flight commander. "These friendships can be created and maintained in a fraction of the time that was necessary only a decade ago." But, with the new social media site surfing comes responsibility, officials said. There are risks anytime government employees use the Internet and social media sites are especially vulnerable to abuse. "Social networks have grown into a huge pool of victims for spam, social engineering, malware, and botnet driven attacks against individuals and the United States government," Lieutenant Wilcox said. The Internet can be a creepy world with its more than 600 million users worldwide. Social media sites allow unverified third parties to create content and usually do not have proactive security measures, Lieutenant Wilcox said. And, government employees are prime targets for social engineering - where one or a few facts about an individual are used to exploit the individual for more information. The Department of Defense networks are attacked 300 million times every day. However, Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn said that security risks have to be balanced with the benefits. He sees social media as a tool to reach a generation of young adults who communicate through technology. An estimated 400 million people around the world use Facebook social media site. According to the Pew Research Center's February 2010 report, 73 percent of adult profile owners use Facebook; 48 percent have a profile with MySpace and 14 percent use Linkedin. These statistics are not lost on Secretary Lynn. In April, he spoke to Facebook employees at the Palo Alto, Calif., company and said the DoD depends on social media for recruiting so the services can reach young people. "That is the demographic we are trying to reach," he said, according to the American Forces Press Services April 28 article. "We would be depriving ourselves of the best and the brightest if we didn't use social media." Social media is how young 20-somethings communicate, said Airman 1st Class Jessica Hines, 21st Space Wing Public Affairs. When she arrived at Peterson seven months ago, she searched for a Peterson dorm page on Facebook. At the university she had attended, every dorm had its own page - which was not started by school administrators, but by students, she said. She launched a Peterson dorm page on Facebook April 28. She hopes Airmen will use the page to share information and make connections. For example, she posted a Web site with details of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which holds credit card companies to low interest rates for active-duty military members, something she said a lot of Airmen don't know about. She sees the site as a place for Airmen to discuss what is relevant to them, not just about the Air Force but about living in Colorado. Living in base dorms isn't much different than college dorms, she said. People are coming in from all over the country and they just want to connect with each other. "You are looking to connect and start your own Air Force family," she said. "You have to create your own support system." For sure the social media policy allowing access from government computers will require balancing security with the benefits, officials said. And, there is such a thing as too much information, said Col. Stephen N. Whiting, 21st Space Wing commander. "As we open up access to these social media sites, we must be sure that we use these tools wisely," Colonel Whiting said. "We must use good judgment to ensure sensitive personal information and Privacy Act data are not put onto these sites. Once this happens, there is no way to clean the site." Examples of data that must never be placed on these sites are photos with possible intelligence value from the war zone; photos of new equipment; deployment activities; and any ongoing operations on the base, Colonel Whiting said. Lieutenant Wilcox said safe online activity includes practicing good operational security. One piece of data, combined with other pieces can paint the big picture of military activities. It is recommend users spend as little time as possible on social media sites when at work, he said. "Extended use of these sites can lead to possible bandwidth, OPSEC, and other security issues," he said. "In the end, the best advice is to think before you click. Take an extra second to think about what you are doing before opening up a link you don't know." What you should know about social media · Holidays are a lucrative time for cyber criminals. Users are looking for holiday e-cards, screen savers and wallpaper. Links on social media sites that provide these items also come along with the hidden present of malware. · Password requirements are weak on most social networking sites. · Be careful of the culture of "I approve" without reading the fine print, which can lead to a user being exploited. · Identity theft is prevalent. People steal photos along with the "public" data on the social networking site to create a new impersonated account online. · A person's e-mail address is often the same username on online accounts · With online shopping integrated onto social media sites, credit card and banking data are often stored within these sites Tips on surviving the social media jungle · Do not post your full name on a social network · Your profile should not have open access for the general public · Personal information, such as schools attended, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail and places of employment should be restricted only to contacts that the user knows in reality. · Assume that what you post will remain there forever · Be discriminating in what photos you post