In response to leaked U.S. State Department cables by the Internet site WikiLeaks, the U.S. Air Force has blocked a list of news websites that published the material at bases around the globe—including Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc.
Vandenberg spokesperson Jeremy Eggers confirmed on Dec. 21 that various websites, including the New York Times, were being blocked from computers at the base as part of an Air Force directive, but didn’t have any other information.
Air Force Command Maj. Toni Tones told the Sun that the Air Force implemented the directive to block a list of approximately 25 websites from computers at bases across the country. She said she hasn’t been given a timeframe for how long the ban will remain in place.
“We’ve been blocking different sites for years, and our primary concern is to ensure that our own classified network remains safe,” Tones said. “If we have people download from these sites, we’re putting our network at risk.”
Tones said that to “sanitize” a computer—i.e. remove all classified data and reinstate it into the Air Force’s classified network—requires a complete temporary shutdown and averages about $7,000 per machine.
“We stand by our decision to protect the Air Force network, and this is not an attempt by any means to censor a particular media outlet,” Tones said.
Tones said as far as she knew, the Army and Navy haven’t taken such actions.
WikiLeaks released more than 250,000 State Department correspondences in late November.
Federal employees and government contractors are being held to higher scrutiny than the wider public in light of the leaked information, after the White House on Dec. 3 reminded employees that classified information could not be viewed by anyone without security clearance, even on personal computers outside of work hours.
This article appears in Dec 23-30, 2010.
