Shocking mistake by the US military

According to the Financial Times (FT) news, millions of emails were sent to the wrong address after the US military’s “.mil” domain name was mistakenly confused with Mali’s “.ml” domain name.

It was noted that the emails in question contained confidential information, such as diplomatic documents, tax records, passwords and itineraries of senior military officials.

“WE TAKE THE ISSUE SERIOUSLY”

Responding to a question on the subject, Pentagon spokesman Tim Gorman said the Department of Defense is “aware” of this problem and takes seriously “unauthorized disclosures of controlled national security information or controlled non-confidential information.” “.

Gorman noted that the Ministry of Defense has implemented training and technical controls to prevent emails from “.

117 THOUSAND PERSONNEL HAVE INFORMATION

Noting that it is not possible to implement technical controls that prevent the use of personal email accounts for government business, Gorman stated that the Ministry of Defense continues to provide instruction and training to its personnel in this regard.

Dutch internet entrepreneur Johannes Zuurbier, who manages the “.ml” domain name in accordance with his contract with Mali, told the FT that he has continued to receive similar bogus emails since 2013, and that the problem is aimed at the US. at various levels, including the US Embassy in Mali. He said that he reported it to the authorities.

Noting that approximately 117,000 emails belonging to US military personnel have been sent to him since January alone, Zuurbier expressed that he is also concerned about the risks that may arise in this regard. (AA)