Thousands of potentially secret US military emails are being sent to an African country due to typos
The difference between .mil and .ml email addresses is stark
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
A decade-long blunder on the part of the US military may have taken a serious turn that could see the forces now risk sharing sensitive information with countries like Russia.
Over the last week alone, nearly 1,000 messages were accidentally sent toemailaddresses ending in .ml - a domain that represents the African nation of Mali - instead of .mil military domains, due to a simple one-character typo.
As such, the Dutch entrepreneur, Johannes Zuurbier, contracted with managing the .ml domain, has issued a stark warning to the US just days ahead of a new and emerging threat.
US military emails snafu
Zuurbier, who has collected around 117,000 misdirected messages since January, wrote earlier this month to the US government warning of the potential consequences: “This risk is real and could be exploited by adversaries of the US.”
These are the best privacy tools and anonymous browsers around>Google Domains shuts down, assets sold to Squarespace>Suspicious emails or websites are being flagged every five seconds
With the 10-year domain management contract set to end on Monday, access to the .ml domain is set to be transferred to Malian authorities, who will be able to access misdirected emails intended for .mil recipients. With Mali having close political, economic, and military ties to Russia, Zuurbier is concerned that sensitive US information could end up in the wrong hands.
While none of the emails are marked as classified, their contents are said to include x-rays, medical data, identity document information, crew lists for ships, staff lists at bases, maps of installations, photos of bases, naval inspection reports, contracts, criminal complaints against personnel, internal investigations into bullying, official travel itineraries, bookings, and tax and financial records.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond toTechRadar Pro’s request for comment on the matter. Any update will be posted here.
Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!
ViaFinancial Times
With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!
New fanless cooling technology enhances energy efficiency for AI workloads by achieving a 90% reduction in cooling power consumption
Samsung plans record-breaking 400-layer NAND chip that could be key to breaking 200TB barrier for ultra large capacity AI hyperscaler SSDs
NYT Strands today — hints, answers and spangram for Sunday, November 10 (game #252)
