Marines bid farewell to Facebook

Marine Corps officials have banned using social networking Web sites on the service’s networks due to the security risks associated with the Web 2.0 tools, according to an order published on the Marine Corps Web site.

The order issued August 3 bans accessing social networking tools that include Facebook and Twitter on the Marine Corps Enterprise Network and on the Non-secure Internet Protocol Router Network.

“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,” the order states, adding that social networking sites create an easy conduit for information leakage.

The service also banned accessing the sites through virtual private network connections. However, Marine Corp personnel may still access social networking sites sponsored by the Defense Department and hosted on internal networks, the order states.

DOD-wide policies on the use of social media tools are being re-evaluated, according to a U.S. Strategic Command blog entry and widespread media reports.

The Strategic Command, which oversees the use of the dot-mil network, has launched a review of the safety of the sites, according to several reports.