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Online Gaming Chats Have Long Been Spy Risk for US Military “How to Make the Most of Your Summer Holiday” “Maximizing Your Summer Vacation”

Enter a U.S. military recreation hall at any base around the globe and you’ll likely witness it: youthful soldiers engrossed in the virtual realm of online gaming, utilizing either government-funded gaming equipment or their personal consoles. This avidness for gaming has recently gained attention following the arrest of Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, for unlawfully obtaining and sharing classified material on a geopolitical channel on Discord, a social media platform originally created for gamers to connect.

Foreign intelligence agents could use an avatar in a gaming room to win the confidence of young service members and then connect with them on other social media platforms, according to Dan Meyer, a partner at the Tully Rinckey law firm. The military has responded by creating esports teams to recruit youth, as well as issuing policies to counter extremism in the ranks.

The Defense Department also has procedures in place to protect classified information, and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks recently reminded the force that “the responsibility to safeguard classified information is a lifetime requirement for each individual granted a security clearance.”

Peter W. Singer, who wrote a novel about attacks on the U.S. plotted in an online war game, expects that future espionage and plotting will likely find haven in some of these private online worlds. The vast number of sites and private chats make it virtually impossible for the Pentagon to manage, however, so the military has instead focused on training service members never to reveal classified information in the first place.

In the end, the military’s presence in the online game community is an effective way to reach and potentially recruit youth, but the privacy issues and legal limitations of monitoring these games mean that the military can only do so much to ensure classified information is kept secure. The best way to protect classified information is for service members to never reveal it in the first place.

Key Points:

  • The enthusiasm military personnel have for gaming brings risk of classified information being leaked.
  • Foreign intelligence agents could use avatars in gaming rooms to win the confidence of young service members.
  • The military has responded by creating esports teams to recruit youth, as well as issuing policies to counter extremism in the ranks.
  • The vast number of sites and private chats make it virtually impossible for the Pentagon to monitor for potential threats or leaks.
  • The best way to protect classified information is for service members to never reveal it in the first place.

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