5 ms·

UK MoD accidentally sends classified emails meant for US (.mil) to Mali (.ml)

18 points by xingyzt 3y ago

TillE 3y ago
> emails containing classified information It's incredibly embarrassing if they're not using any kind of encryption for this.
whycome 3y ago
Well maybe the USA shouldn't get those top level TLDs? (Eg .gov or .mil or .edu). What's wrong with them having to use a second level domain like ".us.gov"?
- NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
  It's been this way for 40 years. Are you a taxpayer? I'd rather not pay for any such retrofit. Furthermore, what makes you think that typos won't be made with any different domain name? Why would a fake hypothetical improvement of the situation drive a massive rewrite of millions of lines of code, server configurations, TLS certificates, specification documents...?
  - paradaux 3y ago
    I'm pretty sure the GP's point was that the US shouldn't have .gov/.mil etc, every country essentially has a form of government and military — And besides .gov.us would be more explicit.
    - NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
      Inventors' privilege.
  - orra 3y ago
    You're vastly exaggerating the costs of changing domains (and setting up a redirect). I'm glad you mention TLS certificate, because those are an ongoing thing, not something you set up once leave unchanged for 40 years.
    - NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
      You can't set up a redirect, because if you leave a redirect in place, then people can send email to the original domain, and we're back where we started with the Mali misdirections. That's what the article is about.
      - orra 3y ago
        True, but to avoid chaos you have a redirect for a while. Send a warning at first, then send an error.
        NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
        This is the US Military we're talking about. Have you ever tried to enter an Air Force base without ID and clearance? You know what comes after a warning.
- lockhouse 3y ago
  The USA gets those top level TLDs because that's who created the Internet in the first place. It's an outgrowth of a US military project called ARPANET. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET
- N19PEDL2 3y ago
  This was discussed just a few days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36836843 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36836843
tedunangst 3y ago
Why is classified info allowed on an internet connected computer in the first place?

18 points by xingyzt 3y ago

> emails containing classified information It's incredibly embarrassing if they're not using any kind of encryption for this.

whycome 3y ago

Well maybe the USA shouldn't get those top level TLDs? (Eg .gov or .mil or .edu). What's wrong with them having to use a second level domain like ".us.gov"?

NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
It's been this way for 40 years. Are you a taxpayer? I'd rather not pay for any such retrofit. Furthermore, what makes you think that typos won't be made with any different domain name? Why would a fake hypothetical improvement of the situation drive a massive rewrite of millions of lines of code, server configurations, TLS certificates, specification documents...?
- paradaux 3y ago
  I'm pretty sure the GP's point was that the US shouldn't have .gov/.mil etc, every country essentially has a form of government and military — And besides .gov.us would be more explicit.
  - NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
    Inventors' privilege.
- orra 3y ago
  You're vastly exaggerating the costs of changing domains (and setting up a redirect). I'm glad you mention TLS certificate, because those are an ongoing thing, not something you set up once leave unchanged for 40 years.
  - NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
    You can't set up a redirect, because if you leave a redirect in place, then people can send email to the original domain, and we're back where we started with the Mali misdirections. That's what the article is about.
    - orra 3y ago
      True, but to avoid chaos you have a redirect for a while. Send a warning at first, then send an error.
      - NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
        This is the US Military we're talking about. Have you ever tried to enter an Air Force base without ID and clearance? You know what comes after a warning.
lockhouse 3y ago
The USA gets those top level TLDs because that's who created the Internet in the first place. It's an outgrowth of a US military project called ARPANET. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET
N19PEDL2 3y ago
This was discussed just a few days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36836843 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36836843

tedunangst 3y ago

Why is classified info allowed on an internet connected computer in the first place?