SecNav: Facebook, Twitter are valuable - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

SecNav: Facebook, Twitter are valuable

Although Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are now officially off limits for Marines at work, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus hopes the department can find a way to allow access to those sites and others like them while maintaining vital network security. Sailors, on the other hand, still have access to most of the sites through Navy computers.

An Aug. 3 Marine message called the social networking sites “a proven haven for malicious actors and content,” and officially prohibited Marines from accessing them from work computers unless a waiver is granted. Just three days after the message was released, Twitter was hacked and shut down for a few hours, illustrating how susceptible such sites are to attack.

“The very nature of [social networking sites] creates a larger attack and exploitation window, exposes unnecessary information to adversaries and provides an easy conduit for information leakage,” officials said in the message.

The ban does not apply to Marines’ personal accounts accessed from home computers, or at Internet cafes and USO computer terminals in war zones.

Marine officials say the one-year ban ensures the Corps’ network will stay secure while the Defense Department determines whether it’s a good idea to allow access to such sites from military computers. But Mabus, who is traveling in the Middle East and on Aug. 1 began posting updates to a Navy Twitter account, said both services should enable access to social networks because young Marines, sailors and potential recruits are active online.

“Two-thirds of the Corps are under 25. I know there’s one way to skin this cat in a way that’s secure,” he said.

The Navy allows sailors to use most social networking sites on Navy computers, including Facebook and Twitter. The Navy has no restrictions on the use of social media beyond Defense Department guidelines, Navy spokeswoman Lt. j.g. Jenn Womble said.

Mabus would like to see the Corps add filters to its network — a solution that would address worries about cybersecurity and allow Marines to access social networking sites, he said.

Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Craig Thomas said Mabus is “absolutely right.”

“The Marine Corps understands that this is a bigger issue that is going to be solved at the Department of Defense level, and in the meantime we are not doing anything different than what we’ve done in the past as far as access is concerned,” Thomas said.

SecNav’s Tweets

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus began using Twitter on Aug. 1. Since he does not have his own account, he sends messages through the “NavyNews” handle. A sample: “#SECNAV with folks at CJTF-HOA at Camp Lemonier. Short sleeves - good choice!”

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Staff writers Philip Ewing and Andrew Tilghman contributed to this report.

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