Tri-Service

"Loose Tweets, Destroy Fleets"

As was the case with one post sent from an ISIS headquarters back in June, stray tweets can lead to catastrophic consequences.

The US Air Force Central Command, being the orchestrators of said attack on ISIS, are ahead of the game when it comes to operations security (OPSEC) and protecting yourself online.

In a new campaign to keep unwanted leaks at bay, "Loose Tweets Destroy Fleets" tries to raise awareness about safeguarding operational information and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.

Keeping sensitive information classified is a key priority, so the US military have been quick off the mark to inform service personnel that the information they release could be used against them.

“As social media keeps evolving and there’s more and more avenues to let your friends and family know what you are up to, those same avenues can be used by ISIS sympathizers, ‘lone wolves,’ to track down and hurt our military members outside the safety of the base,” said Capt. Jonathan McDonald, AFCENT Force Protection chief.

“It’s vital to check your security settings in your social media accounts to make sure that just your friends are able to see what you post and remember to be smart about what you post and share,” McDonald added.

In 2012, Iraqi insurgents used mobile phone geotags from USAF social media posts to destroy 4 Apache AH-64's.

The top 10 pieces of 'critical information' the US military advises personnel not to share online includes, among other things, "computer program passwords and user id's" and "specific location of core facilities".

Fearing this kind of information could provide an advantage to an adversary, the US military have been keen to press home the importance of Operations Security, by releasing the ominous warning to serving personnel: