Thursday, October 06, 2005

OPSEC and Blogs

I just got handed a bunch of printed powerpoint slides (that's how the Army communicates with itself these days) and was told to read them and sign a sheet acknowledging that I had read them. This is another one of those 100% compliance things the Army throws at me every other day or so.
These powerpoint slides were from the Army's The 1st Information Operations Command (Land) (1st IO Cmd). (AKO login required) According to its website, "Information Operations are actions taken to affect adversary and other information and information systems while defending one's own information and information systems. Information Operations are both offensive and defensive in nature."
The powerpoint slides were specifically about blogs and how bloggers who ignore OPSEC are giving free information to terrorists. If you want to view the slides yourself, you can just click here.(AKO login required)

The part that I find interesting is that the 1st IO command actually singles out specific milblogs who they think violate OPSEC.
Guess who the Army says is the big OPSEC violator?
Armor Geddon, LT Neil Prakash's blog. The 1st IO Command takes exception with EIGHT of his detailed accounts of the battle of Fallujah, writing that such detail gives away tactics, techniques, and procedures to the enemy.
I can understand their point, but at what point is a detailed account of a battle "history" and no longer an OPSEC violation?

The 1st IO command also holds up some good examples of bloggers who take OPSEC into account.
Boots in Baghdad
Major K.

The Army is starting to take notice of milblogs and active milbloggers are beginning to feel the heat.