https://sputnikglobe.com/20230728/british-mod-admits-sensitive-emails-mistakenly-sent-to-mali-1112210624.html
British MoD Admits Sensitive Emails Mistakenly Sent to Mali
British MoD Admits Sensitive Emails Mistakenly Sent to Mali
Sputnik International
Johannes Zuurbier went public earlier in July after US military chiefs ignored his repeated warnings that sensitive emails were being misdirected to the country domain servers of West African nation Mali.
2023-07-28T11:49+0000
2023-07-28T11:49+0000
2023-07-28T11:49+0000
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British defence officials may have sent secret emails to a "Russian ally" in Africa due to a minor typing error, a Dutch internet entrepreneur has warned.Johannes Zuurbier raised the alarm earlier this month over millions of US Department of Defense emails he said had been mistakenly addressed with the .ml country domain of West African nation Mali rather than the Pentagon's usual .mil code.Zuurbier's Mali Dili company had a 10-year contract to run the Malian internet country domain. But that has now expired and the Moscow-friendly government has taken management in-house.Now he has warned that British Ministry of Defence (MoD) staff could be making the same mistake, potentially leaking classified information.Zuurbier showed a daily newspaper five emails from British government addresses that ended up in the Malian email server that his firm managed.One listed names of British and US personnel working on a hypersonic missile project at Porton Down, the MoD's science and technology centre in Wiltshire — notorious for its work on chemical weapons of the kind which poisoned Russian MI6 agent Sergei Skipal and his daughter Yulia in nearby Salisbury.Mali, a former French colony, has in recent years moved away from Western influence, striking arms deals with Russia and Turkey and criticising its former imperial masters.Responding to a question from opposition Labour Party shadow rail minister Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, junior defence minister Andrew Murrsion insisted that the chances of sensitive information falling into Russian hands were very low.The MoD said it had launched an investigation into the "small number" of emails mistakenly forwarded to the Malian domain.But shadow armed forces minister Luke Pollard, whose parliamentary constituency includes the Royal Navy base at Devonport, Plymouth, also expressed concern over the potential leak.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230717/millions-of-pentagon-emails-sent-to-malian-server-due-to-mil-domain-typo-1111940351.html
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pentagon email leak to mali, british ministry of defence email leak, nato cyber security
British MoD Admits Sensitive Emails Mistakenly Sent to Mali
Johannes Zuurbier went public earlier in July after US military chiefs ignored his repeated warnings that sensitive emails were being misdirected to the country domain servers of West African nation Mali.
British defence officials may have sent secret emails to a "Russian ally" in Africa due to a minor typing error, a Dutch internet entrepreneur has warned.
Johannes Zuurbier raised the alarm earlier this month over millions of US Department of Defense emails he said had been mistakenly addressed with the .ml country domain of West African nation
Mali rather than the
Pentagon's usual .mil code.
Zuurbier's Mali Dili company had a 10-year contract to run the Malian internet country domain. But that has now expired and the Moscow-friendly government has taken management in-house.
"I have been warning the US government about this for ten years but have been ignored," said Zuurbier. "Any future mistypes could be seen by the Malian government and the only way to prevent a security leak is to warn people about the dangers of using ‘ml’. Mali can share whatever sensitive material they receive with any adversaries of the US from now on."
Now he has warned that British Ministry of Defence (MoD) staff could be making the same mistake, potentially leaking classified information.
Zuurbier showed a daily newspaper five emails from British government addresses that ended up in the Malian email server that his firm managed.
One listed names of British and US personnel working on a
hypersonic missile project at Porton Down, the MoD's science and technology centre in Wiltshire — notorious for its work on
chemical weapons of the kind which poisoned Russian MI6 agent Sergei Skipal and his daughter Yulia in nearby Salisbury.
Mali, a former French colony, has in recent years moved away from Western influence, striking
arms deals with Russia and Turkey and criticising its former imperial masters.
Responding to a question from opposition Labour Party shadow rail minister Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, junior defence minister Andrew Murrsion insisted that the chances of sensitive information falling into Russian hands were very low.
"Policies are put in place on all email systems to minimise the risk of such mistakes," Murrison said. "Once the analysis of our email traffic is complete, we will consider what, if any, changes need to be made to MoD policies."
The MoD said it had launched an investigation into the "small number" of emails mistakenly forwarded to the Malian domain.
"We are confident they did not contain any information that could compromise operational security or technical data," an MoD spokesman said. "All sensitive information is shared on systems designed to minimise the risk of misdirection."
But shadow armed forces minister Luke Pollard, whose parliamentary constituency includes the Royal Navy base at Devonport, Plymouth, also expressed concern over the potential leak.
"Ministers must immediately explain if any service personnel have been compromised or put in harm’s way due to this data breach," Pollard said. "This lax approach to security must end."
