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thedrifter
05-13-07, 08:28 AM
DOD blocking YouTube, others

To save bandwidth, officials say several sites to be off-limits at work

By Leo Shane III, and T.D. Flack, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Sunday, May 13, 2007

Starting Monday, the Defense Department will block access to MySpace, YouTube and a host of other sites on official department computers worldwide, in an effort to boost its network efficiency.

Troops and families living on U.S. bases will still be able to view the sites through private Internet networks, but the move leaves servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan who use the popular picture- and video-sharing sites with little or no access to them.

Defense officials said the move is solely a reaction to the heavy drain the streaming video and audio can put on the defense computer network.

“We’re not passing any judgment on these sites, we’re just saying you shouldn’t be accessing them at work,” said Julie Ziegenhorn, spokeswoman for U.S. Strategic Command. “This is a bandwidth and network management issue. We’ve got to have the networks open to do our mission. They have to be reliable, timely and secure.”

In a message to troops from U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. B.B. Bell on Friday, he acknowledged many of the sites being blocked are used by troops to keep in touch with family and friends.

“This recreational traffic impacts our official DOD network and bandwidth availability, while posting a significant operational security challenge,” he wrote.

Ironically, the Defense Department this year had just begun expanding its own use of YouTube to reach a younger, broader audience and show clips of U.S. troops in action.

Multi-National Force — Iraq, U.S. Army Civil Affairs Command in Afghanistan, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Gulf Region have all launched new channels on the Web site to highlight recent successes overseas.

Ziegenhorn said that wasn’t taken into consideration when the Joint Task Force Global Network Operations began reviewing and flagging sites that posed problems to the network.

“This is all about what is a drain on the system,” she said.

A review of the banned sites has been under way since February, she said. And the task force is still considering other problematic addresses to add to the list.

“This will be an ever-evolving discussion, because we need to constantly make sure those networks are available and secure,” she said.

The official policy blocking the sites will be released Monday, the same day they go into effect. But Ziegenhorn said most network administrators are already aware of the change.

The individual services have already blocked some sites for the same bandwidth issues. In addition, Defense Department policy prohibits troops or civilian workers from using government computers from accessing inappropriate sites because of inappropriate content, such as pornography.

thedrifter
05-13-07, 04:59 PM
Blogger: new rule will inhibit mil. bloggers
By Robert Weller - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday May 13, 2007 16:44:32 EDT

DENVER — The operator of a popular military blogging site says new Army rules will inhibit soldiers from blogging.

“The old regulation said you had to register your blog, and if you had any questions about operational security you were supposed to inform your commander,” said former Army Maj. Matthew Burden, who served in the Gulf War and in intelligence.

In announcing the new regulations, the Army said the intention of the new rule is not to have soldiers clear every public posting with commanders. “Not only is that impractical, but we are trusting the soldiers to protect critical information,” said Army Maj. Ray M. Ceralde on May 2.” The Army also said rules published in 2005 already required solders to clear postings with security officers.

However, the 2005 regulation, provided to The Associated Press by Burden, requires solders to “Consult with their immediate supervisor and their Operational Security program manager, prior to publishing or posting information that might contain sensitive and/or critical information in a public forum — this includes, but is not limited to letters, e-mail, Web site postings, Web log (Blog) postings, discussion in Internet information forums, discussion in Internet message boards, or other forms of dissemination or documentation.”

The new rule says soldiers must “Consult with their immediate supervisor and their OPSEC officer for an OPSEC review prior to publishing or posting information in a public forum.”

Burden said no commander can ignore the new regulation or liberally interpret it. “He’s going to read it black and white.”

Iraq-based soldiers are disappearing from Burden’s blog since the new rule was announced, though many soldiers still e-mail him and he posts their comments under different names, he said. His Web site, www.blackfive.net, has 3 million hits a year.

A two-day posting on Sunday from a soldier in Iraq, who name was withheld, said he was astonished support for the war has declined so much because no one in America was being asked to sacrifice anything except soldiers and their families. “The only ones who have TRULY sacrificed are my brothers and sisters in arms who have been killed or wounded and their families that live with that pain everyday. For the rest of America what has been given up? I saw in the news that the stock market is at record levels.”

Noah Shachtman, who runs a national security blog for Wired Magazine, said no one questions the Army’s right to protect intelligence and soldiers wouldn’t purposely endanger themselves or their buddies. “This is as much an information war as it is bombs and bullets. And they are muzzling their best voices. The functional result is any solder who blogs will have a sword of his head. And he can be busted for anything he says.”

John Noonan, a Air Force captain blogger who declined to be further identified, said, “Officers will just say you can’t blog because that is the safest way to do it. It will have a chilling effect.”

Burden said the Army had initially welcomed e-mail because it was such a morale booster. Army public affairs officers e-mail reporters in their hometowns with news of their successful campaigns.

The Army’s 2005 Review said: “Internet blog sites and troops’ letters home are full of anecdotes about the gratification U.S. service members get from helping people who have suffered so much.”

Recently, the Army began posting videos on YouTube.com showing soldiers defeating insurgents and befriending Iraqis. Iraqi insurgents or their supporters have been posting videos on the site since last fall.

www.youtube.com/profile?user=MNFIRAQ

Ellie

thedrifter
05-14-07, 08:57 AM
YouTube, MySpace being cut off for many
By Robert Weller - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday May 14, 2007 9:39:07 EDT

DENVER — Troops serving overseas will lose some of their online links to friends and loved ones back home under a Defense Department policy that a high-ranking Army official said would take effect Monday.

The Defense Department will begin blocking access “worldwide” to YouTube, MySpace and 11 other popular Web sites on its computers and networks, according to a memo sent Friday by Gen. B.B. Bell, the U.S. Forces Korea commander.

The policy is being implemented to protect information and reduce drag on the department’s networks, according to Bell.

“This recreational traffic impacts our official DoD network and bandwidth ability, while posing a significant operational security challenge,” the memo said.

The armed services have long barred members of the military from sharing information that could jeopardize their missions or safety, whether electronically or by other means.

The new policy is different because it creates a blanket ban on several sites used by military personnel to exchange messages, pictures, video and audio with family and friends.

Members of the military can still access the sites on their own computers and networks, but Defense Department computers and networks are the only ones available to many troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iraqi insurgents or their supporters have been posting videos on YouTube at least since last fall. The Army recently began posting videos on YouTube showing soldiers defeating insurgents and befriending Iraqis.

But the new rules mean many military personnel won’t be able to watch those achievements — at least not on military computers.

If the restrictions are intended to prevent soldiers from giving or receiving bad news, they could also prevent them from providing positive reports from the field, said Noah Shachtman, who runs a national security blog for Wired Magazine.

“This is as much an information war as it is bombs and bullets,” he said. “And they are muzzling their best voices.”

The sites covered by the ban are the video-sharing sites YouTube, Metacafe, IFilm, StupidVideos, and FileCabi, the social networking sites MySpace, BlackPlanet and Hi5, music sites Pandora, MTV, and 1.fm, and live365, and the photo-sharing site Photobucket.

Several companies have instituted similar bans, saying recreational sites drain productivity.


Read the memo:

tinyurl.com/2x2qka

Ellie