Concerned that sensitive information might leak out, some units of the
United States military are starting to clamp down on e-mail communication
from their soldiers and sailors, who have been using it from ships, major
bases and even desert outposts around Iraq to stay in touch with family and
friends.
.
The uncertainty underscores the double-edged nature of a technology that is
giving an unprecedented opportunity for instantaneous interaction from the
most remote locations, a development the Pentagon believes is helping to
improve the morale in the field and at home. At the moment, much of the
electronic communication is going unmonitored by the military, providing an
opportunity for what some fear could be inadvertent leaks from the
potential battlefield.
.
The air force warned last week that it might limit or start blocking
electronic messages because some people had sent home sensitive
information, including digital images that might have compromised unit
safety. The navy has said that on submarines, it is monitoring all e-mail
traffic. And the army, while generally maintaining open access to e-mail,
is restricting some Internet connections from certain bases.
.
Across the military, individual soldiers have been instructed not to send
sensitive information. But the policy about what Internet access to allow
and what material to monitor or censor has been largely left to division
and unit commanders on the theory that they are best able to judge what
constitutes a real threat to security.
.
Some military critics argue that there should be a clearer Pentagon-wide
policy on how to deal with a communications system that offers instant
access beyond what was available in any previous conflict. The critics
assert that e-mail and Internet communication raises several potential
problems: It is voluminous and thus hard to monitor; it can convey not only
words but images; and it is immediate, meaning that an enemy could
conceivably tap into real-time updates of, say, troop movements, the
presence of a general, or a military outpost's perimeter defenses.
.
Still, computer security experts are not particularly concerned that Iraqi
forces would devote much attention to trying to hack into e-mail
communications from U.S. troops. Moreover, the military's sensitive
operational information is kept on a proprietary network called the Secret
Internet Protocol Network that is not connected to the publicly-accessible
Internet, making it extremely hard for hackers to penetrate.
.
Rather, the problem that computer and military experts worry about is that
Iraqi forces might accidentally obtain a message sent home by a soldier
that ended up being forwarded to someone sympathetic to Iraq, or that
outsiders might view a picture published on a publicly accessible Web site.
.
"The timeliness of the information is a major factor, and the volume of
message traffic can be very dangerous," said Keith Eiler, a military
historian at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. "It's a
potentially serious problem and not one that is easily solved."
.
Eiler said he would like to see a clearer policy, and perhaps some
monitoring and censorship of communication, as was the case with letters in
World War II and Korea, and to an extent with mail and even telephone calls
from Vietnam.
.
Electronic connections bring an ease of communication not even seen in the
Gulf War, which took place before the widespread commercial use of the
Internet and e-mail.
.
"It's more wonderful than you can imagine," said Gary Richardson, a
consultant in Napa, California, whose 32-year-old daughter, Patricia, is in
an army battalion at an undisclosed overseas location. "When you get a
message, you know that her hands were just on the keyboard and that she was
alive and well just a few minutes ago."
.
The computer technology also brings soldiers a slice of home. Major Richard
Patterson, the public affairs officer for the army's 82nd Airborne, brought
a Web camera with him to his post in Bagram AirField in Afghanistan. Using
the camera, he participated in a video conference over the Internet with
his family, which allowed him to witness his daughter's first birthday.
.
"Through a microphone and speakers, I was able to sing her happy birthday
and watch her make a mess out of the ice cream and cake," he said. "I could
see my daughter's first birthday! That is something that in World War II,
Korea, Vietnam, even the Gulf War you couldn't do."
.
Generally speaking, all branches of the military said they had made an
effort to keep e-mail accessible. In the larger, more established camps,
particularly near cities, soldiers have access to high-speed connections
like those enjoyed in American corporations.
.
But in smaller outposts, like in Khost, an impoverished village on the
border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Internet connections are made
through satellite link-ups, and may be limited to a handful of computers
housed in military tents.
.
In each military branch, soldiers are given strict instructions concerning
what information should not be included in e-mail, including their
location, ongoing or future operations, information on dignitaries visiting
a camp, or even reports on troop morale. But enforcement frequently is done
on the basis of trust, military officials said.
.
"There are no restrictions on e-mails," said Lieutenant Joshua Rushing, a
spokesman for the United States Central Command in Qatar. Once soldiers are
given instructions on what not to send, he said, "it's kind of up to the
judgment of the individual person."
.
Lieutenant General Peter Cuviello, the army's chief information officer,
said e-mail had been used on a more limited basis by troops in some recent
conflicts.
.
"We have not had a problem in Bosnia, Kosovo, Sinai, East Timor, or Korea
in recent times," he said, "so I don't expect there is going to be a problem."
.
Cuviello said the army probably would not shut off e-mail or Internet
connections if war starts, but he said it would be used largely for
operational purposes and that soldiers in the midst of the action would not
have time to be sending e-mails.
.
"They'll be in tanks and in Bradley's," he said. Concerned that sensitive
information might leak out, some units of the United States military are
starting to clamp down on e-mail communication from their soldiers and
sailors, who have been using it from ships, major bases and even desert
outposts around Iraq to stay in touch with family and friends.
.
The uncertainty underscores the double-edged nature of a technology that is
giving an unprecedented opportunity for instantaneous interaction from the
most remote locations, a development the Pentagon believes is helping to
improve the morale in the field and at home. At the moment, much of the
electronic communication is going unmonitored by the military, providing an
opportunity for what some fear could be inadvertent leaks from the
potential battlefield.
.
The air force warned last week that it might limit or start blocking
electronic messages because some people had sent home sensitive
information, including digital images that might have compromised unit
safety. The navy has said that on submarines, it is monitoring all e-mail
traffic. And the army, while generally maintaining open access to e-mail,
is restricting some Internet connections from certain bases.
.
Across the military, individual soldiers have been instructed not to send
sensitive information. But the policy about what Internet access to allow
and what material to monitor or censor has been largely left to division
and unit commanders on the theory that they are best able to judge what
constitutes a real threat to security.
.
Some military critics argue that there should be a clearer Pentagon-wide
policy on how to deal with a communications system that offers instant
access beyond what was available in any previous conflict. The critics
assert that e-mail and Internet communication raises several potential
problems: It is voluminous and thus hard to monitor; it can convey not only
words but images; and it is immediate, meaning that an enemy could
conceivably tap into real-time updates of, say, troop movements, the
presence of a general, or a military outpost's perimeter defenses.
.
Still, computer security experts are not particularly concerned that Iraqi
forces would devote much attention to trying to hack into e-mail
communications from U.S. troops. Moreover, the military's sensitive
operational information is kept on a proprietary network called the Secret
Internet Protocol Network that is not connected to the publicly-accessible
Internet, making it extremely hard for hackers to penetrate.
.
Rather, the problem that computer and military experts worry about is that
Iraqi forces might accidentally obtain a message sent home by a soldier
that ended up being forwarded to someone sympathetic to Iraq, or that
outsiders might view a picture published on a publicly accessible Web site.
.
"The timeliness of the information is a major factor, and the volume of
message traffic can be very dangerous," said Keith Eiler, a military
historian at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. "It's a
potentially serious problem and not one that is easily solved."
.
Eiler said he would like to see a clearer policy, and perhaps some
monitoring and censorship of communication, as was the case with letters in
World War II and Korea, and to an extent with mail and even telephone calls
from Vietnam.
