Armymen on Orkut trigger security risk

Army officers are sharing information about training, postings, phone numbers and even operational details, reports Jatin Gandhi.

Major Sanjay (name changed) is an Indian Army officer on a mission with the United Nations. His profile on Orkut — a popular social networking website — reveals this. It also lists details about his military training and capabilities.

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It is the kind of thing that the Army has always held close to its chest because of its usual "classified and may compromise national security" stand on such information.

Elsewhere on the site, two officers have exchanged operational details on each other's scrapbooks. A profile of one reveals that he is posted as an instructor at an academy these days.

It is against service rules. Yet, hundreds of young Army officers are sharing information about training, postings, cell-phone numbers and even operational details through such sites raising serious security concerns. On Orkut, there are more than 220 communities dedicated to the Indian Army alone.

Experts admit that exchanging such vital and classified information over such open online forums should be treated as a serious breach of security.

An Army source said: "We are aware of the problem and our counter intelligence systems are in place. Officers are taken to task within 48 hours if they exchange classified information."

Colonel S Sukhija, the Army's public relations officer, did not respond to a questionnaire that

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sent him on Thursday at his request.

Cyber security expert Subimal Bhattacharjee said the Army must be strict on how its officers use cyberspace since foreign intelligence agencies scout for vital information on the Internet.