February 04, 2020
When the homefront becomes the (cyber) front line
American soldiers have long marched off to war with one assurance: by fighting abroad they were keeping their families safe at home. Today, advances in digital technology combined with unregulated data collection threaten to make the homefront the military’s new front line. The ability to target military families using their digital footprint significantly alters the risk of military service and potentially changes the calculus of war.
Recently, Military Times reported that military family members of soldiers deployed in Kuwait had received “menacing messages” via social media that appeared to target families of the 82nd Airborne Division. An unnamed source believed that the family members had been identified through a hacked internet service provider at the forward location.
This is not the first time service members or their families have been targeted in this fashion and reflects a trend of threats that are not receiving enough attention. The larger a person’s digital footprint, the more vulnerable they and their families are to being targeted.
Read the full article in Fifth Domain.
More from CNAS
-
Transcript from Military AI Applications
Transcript
On April 29, the CNAS Technology and National Security Program hosted an expert discussion on "Military AI Applications" with the Honorable Robert O. Work and Dr. Paul Scharre...
By Robert O. Work & Paul Scharre
-
Sharper: America's National Security Workforce
Commentary
The greatest source of strength in American national security is the people who lead and serve within its institutions. The ongoing U.S. response to the global coronavirus out...
By Emma Moore, Chris Estep & Cole Stevens
-
Take Greenland Seriously and Literally as a Vital National Security Issue
Commentary
It is tempting to dismiss talk of Greenland’s significance for defense and foreign policy simply because President Trump infamously made it a punch line last year. The world’...
By David Priess & Martijn Rasser
-
The Iranian Missile Strike Did Far More Damage Than Trump Admits
Commentary
Over 100 American soldiers have been treated for traumatic brain injuries following Iran’s missile strike on Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq. The strike came in retaliation f...
By Loren DeJonge Schulman & Paul Scharre
