Spy boss poked by Facebook The Foreign Office has defended spy boss Sir John Sawers after his wife posted private information about the family on Facebook. Sawers takes over as head of the Secret Intelligence Service in November. His wife's Facebook profile failed to use any privacy protection and included home addresses, family photographs and holiday …
As soon as they took the decision to start naming the heads of the Secret Services they had blown a great big hole in the whole Secret bit. Mind you, Shelley Sawers seems in need of a good clout around the ear if only in an attempt to knock some sense into her, and Sir John would seem to be a bit short of the required nouse to let his wife run a Faecalbook page in the first place. Oh, what's that? He's a career diplomat with next to zero espionage experience, parachuted in as a NuLabour-friendly face to keep MI6 in line? Well, that would explain it all then.
Lady S needs some security and privacy lessons, fast!
If I was Sir J, I'd be seriously concerned that my wife would blab something over the next few years that would put someone, somewhere - perhaps himself - in serious danger.
If I was the powers that be, I'd be seriously concerned that being married to a liability like that could make Sir J unsuitable for the job. (And this is assuming that he didn't know about it, which is what the reports seem to imply...)
I'm not saying that Sir J will tell his wife all the details of his work. But it just needs a few things to slip out, without them even realising it - careless talk costs lives, as they used to say.
Paris, because she would never let details of her private life... no, wait, let me get back to you on that one.
funny - yes
scandal - no
security risk - no
worthy of el reg - maybe on a friday
He's a political appointee rather than a spy so he's pretty much public domain anyway. There's no information there that is of use to Al Quaeda or any other fictional group of extremists.
Funny as hell though and kudos to el reg for using the phrase 'budgie smugglers'.
Ok, so we all probably get that his wife isn't tech-literate etc, and maybe didn't understand the intertubes and all that, but come on, she can't REALLY have thought that posting the home address of the new head of the security service on the internet was wise?! I mean, she must have spent the last 30 years being 'discreet' about hubby's line of work?!
What's that you say, she hasn't?! Oh.
Compared to the data the government normally loses this is pretty minor (hence Miliband's comment, he may as well have said "is that all? Look at our past record...").
The family snaps from their holidays may not be state secrets but I wouldn't expect the head of MI6 would normally publish his home address in the yellow pages. Guess it depends on wether we really are under siege from terrorists (like the government say we are)?? Given the government's attititude, there is no risk of the head of MI6 being gunned down outside his house, kidnapped, etc by terrorists...
"Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told the BBC: 'It's not a State secret that he wears Speedo swimming trunks. For goodness sake, let's grow up.' Good to see the government taking data security seriously then."
I agree with him. What's the problem? Exactly what "data security" are you implying that they are not taking seriously? His image? His home address? I agree it's a very bad idea to publish your address for the world to see (will people EVER learn?), but I can't imagine it's top-secret information. Is it also a "data security" lapse for people to know where the Queen lives?
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