Sailors and Marines advised to hide military ties on social media, report suspicious activity

The Acting Secretary of the Navy is advising sailors and Marines to “harden” their online profiles and hide ties to the military, as part of a wider call for Department of the Navy personnel to be “vigilant” against adversaries. 

In an Aug. 19 notice to members of the Department of the Navy, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao said that hostile actors are carrying out a “coordinated, multi-domain campaign” that includes direct attacks, harassment operations, and the release of personal information. Cao cited an “evolving threat landscape” since the start of the Iran war in February.

“Recent incidents across the globe demonstrate a clear growth in adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures,” the notice said. “These are not isolated events; they are part of a deliberate effort to gather intelligence, test our defenses, disrupt our operations, and intimidate our force.”

According to the memo, the threats include aerial drones surveilling bases, direct attempts to attack bases, harassment campaigns at bases to probe responses and direct harassment of Navy and Marine Corps personnel and their families. As such, department members are advised to take “immediate action” and review social media accounts for any publicly available information and set profiles to private. 

“Remove any information that could identify your connection to the DON or reveal patterns of life,” the message says. “Adversaries are actively mining this data.”

The Aug. 19 notice also calls for sailors and Marines to report suspicious activity to Naval Criminal Investigative Service. That includes being photographed or surveilled, suspicious questioning and any drone sighting.

The message comes after nearly a year and a half of the war and during a lull in fighting, following escalations in July. Cao writes that the decision is “based on recent events,” according to the notice, but does not specify what they were. Cao’s predecessor, John Phelan, issued a similar notice in the spring, warning of cyber operations against Navy personnel, and recommended steps for digital security. Cao’s new message addresses other threats, but goes beyond the April advice by suggesting that people hide information linking them to the military.

Digital security and surveillance have been a major and repeated concern for the military in the lead-up to and duration of the war. In December, U.S. Central Command directed troops to turn off geolocation services and review privacy on their devices. Since the war started, the military has put out new warnings and restrictions, as online photos and videos, as well as commercially available data, have been used by Iran to track and target Americans. 

Earlier this month, Sky News reported that publicly available data on the fitness app Strava revealed troops and contractors’ routes and habits. Those included sites in Bahrain and Jordan, which were targeted by Iran during the war, with sometimes fatal results. More than 750 troops have been wounded in action since Feb. 28 and 18 killed.