Marines Attack Social Media Site Security Holes

When it comes to physical security, there are few organizations on par with the US Marine Corp. In an unprecedented step to protect their computer network, the Marines have banned the use of social media sites (Wired). Is this a lesson here for the corporate world? 

"These internet sites in general are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure, user generated content and targeting by adversaries," reads a Marine Corps order… 

But the battle of ideas over whether all US military assets will be prevented from using social networking sites is far from over. According to the same Wired report:

Many within the Pentagon's highest ranks find value in the Web 2.0 tools. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has 4,000 followers on Twitter. The Department of Defense is getting ready to unveil a new home page, packed with social media tools. The Army recently ordered all U.S. bases to provide access to Facebook. Top generals now blog from the battlefield. 

Price Floyd, the Pentagon's newly-appointed social media czar, seems awfully skeptical of the Marines’social media lockdown, suggesting that security concerns must not trump using social networking tools if the activity will contribute to enable “business”. And for now, that seems to be an appropriate message for organizations that don’t spend their time organizing beachfront assaults. Use social media tools carefully, with an eye to security. They’re just too useful to ignore.