Anyone 'can be affected by publishing data online'

2009-07-08

Anyone who publishes data online may have to deal with security issues in the future, it has been claimed, which could interest firms looking to prevent an IT intrusion.

Chief executive officer of NCC Group Rob Cotton told Computer Weekly that he thinks social networking facilities such as Facebook could be disrupting the spy industry.

"There are security implications for anyone who puts personal details online and we have long advised people to err on the side of caution should they chose to have a Facebook profile," he commented.

This can be particularly a significant problem for those working in the national security sphere, Mr Cotton commented.

He noted that once data is in the public sphere it is difficult to delete.

Data is similar to currency in high-risk positions, so updating something as simple as a profile could put a mission at risk.

It recently emerged that the wife of the future head of MI6 Sir John Sawers had disclosed personal data of her husband and family on Facebook.

She revealed information such as where the couple live.