The news this week that a retro-cold-war spy ring was busted by the FBI was interesting, to be sure. More interesting was the fact that these spies were social media savvy:
Chapman's Twitter feed offers a glimpse into how her own recruitment might work. As a real estate agent, she could gain intimate knowledge of her clients. She'd know their residences inside and out, and even be in a position to recommend where a technical agent might place a listening device. Her LinkedIn resume suggests she was a prodigious networker, attaching herself to groups like the Online Marketing Association, the eMarketing Association Network and others.
On Facebook, one of Chapman's friends posted a news alert about her arrest and asked, in Russian, whether the Anna Chapman he knew was the same person who was caught in the dragnet. There was no reply.
When you think about it, this all makes sense. Why wouldn't spies use social media as a way of getting insight into the real world social networks they want to infiltrate. It used to be far more difficult (at least if you believe John LeCarré) to learn the details of the lives you wanted to disrupt. Now, all you need is some diligent online schmoozing.
But this raises an interesting point that goes well beyond national security - could these same efforts be used to spy on your company, or on you?
Of course.
People are shockingly careless in discussing the work they do while updating their status, or shooting off a tweet. Someone interesting in the inner workings of your organization could easily gain profound insights into your plans, your direction and your process.
Thankfully, this is primarily a matter of education. Your colleagues need to appreciate that when their personal and professional lives collideall kinds of messy things can happen. They need to be cognizant of who may be reading their postings, and apply a bit of intentionality to what they might be saying. If you are geotagging, everyone will know where you are, which may be relevant to what you are doing for your employer.
So while there's no reason to be paranoid, there is every reason to be careful. After all, spies are everywhere, they are not as obvious as the villains from Bullwinkle, and they may be more interested in your employer's new product than nuclear secrets.