REDSTONE ARSENAL, Alabama -- Turn off Bluetooth and wireless network features on all cell phones upon arriving at work.
That is the message to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command workforce in an email Oct. 21 from leadership.
"Random sweeps in Huntsville and Colorado Springs recently have detected Wi-Fi and wireless access points from personal electronic devices in our facilities," said Julie Schumacher, deputy to the commander, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. "This is a violation of the PED policy and could result in loss of PED privileges and possible punitive actions."
USASMDC/ARSTRAT's deputy chief of staff G-2 COL Christopher Mitchiner explains why the command takes these violations so seriously.
"PED exploitation is a known tactic of foreign intelligence entities," Mitchiner said. "They are easily compromised, and network access points such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi can be used as video or audio recorders without the owner's knowledge.
"Our current PED policy has not kept pace with current technologies, which places the command at risk," Mitchiner said. "A revision is in staffing and must be complete prior to our next inspection to ensure we are complying with Army policy so that we can continue operations."
John Moons, SMDC's Operations Security program manager explains more in-depth how turning off the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi functions on phones is a protection measure.
"Leaving Bluetooth on when you're not using it leaves your phone vulnerable to being 'bluehacked,'" Moons said. "This is when a hacker gains access to your phone because it's a discoverable device to an unprotected Bluetooth or Wi-Fi network. You should keep your Bluetooth off when you're not using it, and change your pairing code so that it's harder to hack when you are using it.
"In the OPSEC process, a threat has three elements: an adversary who has both intent and capability to act against us," Moons said. "Our PEDs are mobile computing devices with cameras, video recorders and audio recorders built in. When we leave these unprotected, we provide an adversary capability to act against us. The vulnerability created from unprotected networks that can be hacked and used to record even unclassified conversations or information can lead to data aggregation by an adversary. Clearly, this is something we want to avoid, and the first step in that is to turn off both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi features on your phone."
The command's current PED policy was drafted by the SMDC G-6 office. It states that PEDs are allowed in SMDC facilities with a few caveats. The SMDC deputy chief of staff G-6, Col. Harry Xenitelis, explains what those are.
"Every PED, both personal and government, must be documented by the user with a signed Acceptable User Agreement that lists the details of the phone and the networks," Xenitelis said. "There are prohibited areas where PEDs are not allowed, but in the areas where they are allowed, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi network access must be disabled.
"We've posted signs to remind the workforce to turn these network access points off," Xenitelis said. "In addition, we've added a pop-up message that must be acknowledged when a user logs into the command's network."
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