Soldiers’ smartphones are risky

The new generation of soldiers’ use of smartphones in the military rings alarm bells for our national security. They frequently violate the regulation which strictly bans import of smartphones to their compounds because they find it increasingly difficult to kick their habit they developed before enlisting. In the process of communicating via social networking services and using the Internet, various types of military secrets can be leaked to the outside.

According to explanations by a soldier who was recently discharged from active service, one out of three soldiers are known to have smart phones. Yet it is utterly shocking that military authorities have not yet determined how many soldiers currently possess smartphones in their military compound.

Security experts have consistently raised serious concerns over the alarming new reality. However, the young soldiers’ sense of responsibility and attitudes turned out to have been considerably improved compared to the past, according to a series of surveys on their military life. The military also made a considerable effort to minimize intervention on their privacy in a sharp departure from its earlier practice mostly bent on coercive methods instead of a respect for individuals.

A considerable number of young soldiers bring in smartphones at the risk of arrest once it is detected because they are addicted to the convenient gadget. That’s a serious threat to our security. The military has imposed a strict restriction on the use of smartphones as it could harm military security. Only when it is indispensable for doing their jobs are officers and noncommissioned officers allowed to carry smartphones, and only after they have their phones officially registered.

Frequent security accidents continue to occur in our military as seen in an earlier case in which a high-ranking general leaked second-level military intelligence to a man with close ties to North Korea and another case where a military exercise was delivered live to a pro-North Korean official via the Internet. Military information leaks through hacking also continue to occur in an organization which cherishes security most. North Korea is notorious for its unrivalled cyberwar capabilities. Yet the lax sense of security in the military has reached a worrisome level. It must come up with concrete solutions to correct the situation before it’s too late.