Pentagon to issue wireless disconnect order

[NVMojo]

August 01, 2002 (Computerworld) -- LAS VEGAS -- The inherent insecurity of wireless devices is now a matter of national security.

John Stenbit, the Pentagon's CIO, said this week that he plans to issue new policy guidelines that will ban most if not all wireless devices within military installations. The change in policy comes only months after Computerworld first reported the results of wireless security audits at major U.S. airlines and the facility housing the U.S. Defense Department's global network operations center.
Pentagon officials fear that the latest generation of wireless devices, including cell phones and two-way pagers, can be used as eavesdropping devices during classified meetings. Military facilities and offices that are used for highly classified meetings are already routinely scanned for listening devices.

However, with the growing use of personal wireless communications systems, security audits increasingly find military officers attending meetings in classified office spaces with these devices on their person, creating the potential for adversaries to turn these devices into crude eavesdropping systems, military officials acknowledged.
Devices such as cell phones have long been banned from facilities known as Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities. In fact, all military personnel who are granted top-secret security clearances are required to attend an indoctrination briefing on the growing list of threats posed by electronic devices. However, the new Pentagon policy extends the wireless ban to the majority of office spaces where sensitive but unclassified information may be discussed. It also builds upon a larger government policy of using the government's purchasing power as a market driver to get the IT industry to improve the security of its products if it wants to sell into the government.

more...

http://www.computerworld.com/mobiletopics/mobile/story/0,10801,73150,00.html

[babylonsister]

1. Wireless disconnect? I'd love to know what that means. nt

[rumpel]

2. Rampant paranoia, feeds fear, seeks ultimate control

what you can not even trust your own troops, anymore?

[Shipwack]

4. A good dose of stupidity too, comes into play...

When I visit a submarine at the explosive handling wharf as a part of my job, I'm not allowed to bring a PDA because its infrared LED make it a "transmitting device"... :eyes:

For the record, I can't bring a cell phone either, which makes a bit more sense.... They haven't restricted shampoo and liquid soap yet, at least...

[DRoseDARs]

3. post#1 Its just a fancy way of saying "Turn it off" and electronic jamming

The military LOVES making language more verbose than it needs to be. Always has, always will.

EDIT: Meant to reply to post #1