19 December 2010

There's smart security, and there's stupid security. This is stupid security.

This week, the US Air Force tried to prevent unauthorized access to Wikileaks by block airmen from viewing the New York Times, Der Speigel, the Guardian, and other news sites known for hosting Wikileaks documents.  According to Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists:
In the past, government agencies have selectively blocked access to private websites that post controversial, disputed or classified information. But a block on the New York Times web site is really unheard of. It represents an extreme misunderstanding of information security policy.
Yes, this is the same US Air Force that's been given control of US CYBERCOM.  (*Facepalm*)




2 comments:

Josh Kennedy said...

Redstone is not only blocking wikileaks, but any URL that contains the word "wikileak". Thus, if trying to view a news article regarding WikiLeaks (e.g. CNN, Fox, NPR, NYT, etc.) then that link is blocked and you get a nasty-gram. OMG: idiocy continues to reign

Anonymous said...

Remind me again why we put the USAF in charge of the internet? Is it because it's like space? Really?

Also, the CYBERCOM wiki led me to learn that the DPRK apparently has a specialized cyberwarfare unit. Which makes me wonder where the DPRK is getting its technical expertise from...