People, be mindful of what you share on the internet and what website or service you use. Especially when you’re working in the secret military base armed with deadly nuclear weaponry. Because everything you share might be available for anyone else to view. The same thing was revealed by Bellingcat, an investigative journalist outlet.
Apparently, US soldiers have been accidentally leaking military base protocols for years and they are all available for the public to see. Secret military bases, especially those with nuclear weapons have a number of soldiers stationed within them. All these soldiers are required to learn security protocols by heart. However, it’s hard for some people.
As per Bellingcat’s investigation, it turns out that a number of soldiers were using flashcard learning apps to memorize these protocols. They were using quiz platforms like Chegg, Quizlet, and Cram to help them learn military protocols. The problem is that all the flashcards added to these websites are available for the public to see. Some are locked behind a paywall but they are there nonetheless.
The investigators explained that finding out the information was as easy as going on Google and typing a few nuclear-related military terms including “PAS,” “WS3,” and “vault” alongside the names of air bases in Europe. These searches led to free flashcard platforms. After a little bit of digging and cross-referencing, they were able to confirm that the flashcards did reveal correct information about the military bases.
Jeffery Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, told the investigators that “This is yet one more warning that these weapons are not secure”. I guess they should ban the use of the internet on military bases now. When Bellingcat reached out to the military, almost all of the flashcards were removed.
This means that a lot of soldiers are being punished and the military might be taking disciplinary actions against the ones who posted the flashcards. Security protocols might be going under a massive change as well considering they’ve been getting leaked for so many years.
