Australia's Spy Boss Asks Defense Workers To Stop Oversharing on LinkedIn

Australia's spy chief has warned that defense workers are exposing themselves to foreign intelligence services through LinkedIn profiles that detail classified projects and security clearances. Director-General Mike Burgess said over 35,000 Australians on the platform indicate access to sensitive information, with 7,000 mentioning defense work and 400 listing involvement in the AUKUS nuclear submarine program. Foreign spies routinely scour professional networking sites posing as consultants and recruiters, Burgess said.

Poor opsec mate

[steak]

Ok listen you drongos, stop doxxing yourselves.

Is LinkIn trying to compete with War Thunder

[BigFire]

for leaks?

Strava

[necro81]

Bah! Next he's going to tell me to stop posting my workouts to Strava, so everyone can see where my [theguardian.com] base is [bbc.com]!

(All your base are belong to Strava.)

Security Clearance

[devslash0]

As far as I know, in the UK it is illegal to disclose to anyone the fact that you have security clearance of any kind.

Re:

[timeOday]

Mentioning "defense work" probably isn't legally equivalent. (IANAL) Can't say just from that if somebody has a clearance or at what level... although there is the implication.

Re: Security Clearance

[PPH]

I spent the day on the back 40, mending de fence.

Re:

[transwarp]

There are also plenty of employers who will openly say they require all employees to have clearances. There's no way around it without just leaving a gap or making something up.

Re:

[KiloByte]

Just fire, revoke clearances, and prosecute all employees who have a non-empty account on Linkedin. Bragging in a bar that you're working on secret stuff is a criminal offense -- and instead of a few patrons, they decided to publish this info for the entire world to read.

Not using a particular social media service is not a big job requirement.

Re: Security Clearance

[devslash0]

Oh, shut up already.

Re:

[Woeful Countenance]

Not illegal, but disclosing security clearance level is against the Rules [www.gov.uk]:
"You should not:
* disclose your level of security clearance online or on social media profiles"

O.M.G.!

[NoOnesMessiah]

This should be a completely "Duh!" moment for each and every one of those people who do crap like this. "Hey! You've got security clearance! Why don't you go crow about it on social media and make yourself a target of foreign interests?!?" In my not-so-humble opinion; if you're that daft you probably deserve to lose said security clearance and the job that goes with it.

Insane

[TwistedGreen]

If you need to know if someone has security clearance, surely the least reliable way to confirm that is to check their resume or--even worse--LinkedIn profile.