UPDATED 12:25 EDT / NOVEMBER 19 2010

US Army Caveat: Facebook May Expose Stealth Locations during Operations

The formidable United States Air Force has released a statement giving warnings to all its troops in and out of the country on using Facebook and social networking sites with geo-location platforms. According to the reports, the US Air Force is worried on the possibility of exposing identity and position of the military herds during operations and surveillance. The notice was posted on an internal website.

Commanders also received specific messages pertaining to the growing concerns on new technology enabling users to pinpoint their location on the map. It could be very “devastating” and crucial for any security and privacy set-ups. This news also reached the US Army and immediately sent mails to its troops deployed in and out of the US. With Facebook, Foursquare and Blackberry, the adversaries may have a tool to locate their designations, posts and distance—which could make their defenses falter significantly.

Currently, there are more than 140,000 troops fighting under the US flag in the middle east, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Privacy issues and concerns such as this will continue to surface as location becomes more integrated into social interaction. While the US Army has issued warning on Facebook usage, Google has already encountered military concerns with Maps initiatives.

The search giant was already restricted by the German government to launch Google Street Views in the country. This was after alarming and valid points raised like being targeted by burglars or controversies by residents of major cities like Hamburg, Munich and Berlin. We’ve been following the story on how Germany showed its resistance from this geo-location feature of Google. Google was suddenly schooled by the Germans on why and how security risks are being measured and why it is very complex and important.


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