Millions of U.S. military emails were leaked, as discovered by a Dutch technologist. The expert said that the incident happened due to a very simple error; a typo.
US Military Emails Leaked in Mali Due to Typo Error
Army 101st Airborne PFC Terrance Walker from Danville, Virginia wishes his mother Paulette Walker a happy Valentine's Day February 14, 2002, as he talks on the phone from the Kandahar Airbase in Afghanistan. Many soldiers on the base either spoke to their loved ones by phone or sent emails for Valentine's Day.
The latest U.S. military leakage is a serious one. Ars Technica reported that the incident exposed highly sensitive details.
These include tax returns, passwords, diplomatic documents, as well as the travel history of top U.S. military officials.
According to CNN Politics, the issue was discovered by Dutch technologist Johannes "Joost" Zuurbier.
The internet entrepreneur said that his company received the leaked U.S. military emails because they are handling the .ML domain.
For those who are not familiar with it, the .ML domain is the country identifier for Mali.
Since it can be confused with the .MIL, which is the suffix to all U.S. military email addresses, Johannes said that he has been raising this issue ever since 2013.
Joost said that he had been talking with numerous U.S. officials, such as the U.S. Embassy in Mali.
"Yes, I was concerned, still am!" said the Dutch technologist.
Read Also: AI-Powered US Military Drone Kills Operator Amid Simulation Test
Persuading the US to Take Domain Issue Seriously
Zuurbier said that his contract to manage the .ML domain has expired this July.
This is why he is trying to raise awareness of the issue. He said that he has been collecting misdirected emails since January.
The Dutch internet entrepreneur added that he is doing this to persuade the U.S. government to take the media issue seriously.
He even sent a letter to the United States, saying that the risk is "real" and could be used by adversaries of the U.S.
Although the leaked U.S. emails are not marked as classified, they still contain sensitive data.
Aside from the details mentioned above, other leaked information includes staff lists at bases, maps of installations, military base photos, naval inspection reports, X-rays and medical data, etc.
Mike Rogers, a retired admiral who managed the National Security Agency of the U.S. Army's Cyber Command, warned that even with just unclassified information, adversaries can still generate intelligence.
Related Article: US Military Seeks To Deploy Forces in the Philippines To Deter China Aggression in the Region
