 Ministry of Defence officials unwittingly sent emails containing classified information to a Kremlin ally. The email mishap, first reported by The Times, saw officials email Mali instead of the US military. Rather than emailing the military's '.mil' domain, officials missed out the 'i' so typed '.ml', the country identifier for the West African nation. While the contents of the 'small number of emails' didn't contain any information that could jeopardize national security, officials have launched an investigation. 'We have opened an investigation after a small number of emails were mistakenly forwarded to an incorrect email domain,' an MoD spokesman said. 'We are confident they did not contain any information that could compromise operational security or technical data.' Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted at the Russia-Africa summit that upheavals in the global food supply chain are down to the West (Picture: AFP) The email servers used are under lock and key, the spokesman stressed, being 'designed to minimise the risk of misdirection'. 'The MoD constantly reviews its processes and is currently undertaking a programme of work to improve information management, data loss prevention, and the control of sensitive information,' they added. British defence officials aren't the only ones mistakenly emailing Mali. For over 10 years, millions of emails associated with the US military have ended up in the country's inbox. The Financial Times reported last month that the 'typo leak' has seen highly sensitive information – from diplomatic and medical documents to passwords and travel itineraries – sent to the '.ml' email domain. Johannes Zuurbier, a Dutch internet entrepreneur who was contracted to manage Mali's country domain, repeatedly raised the issue to Washington. He claimed that in January alone, he intercepted some 117,000 misdirected emails, many sent by mi){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Ministry of Defence officials unwittingly sent emails containing classified information to a Kremlin ally.
The email mishap, first reported by The Times, saw officials email Mali instead of the US military.
Rather than emailing the military’s ‘.mil’ domain, officials missed out the ‘i’ so typed ‘.ml’, the country identifier for the West African nation.
While the contents of the ‘small number of emails’ didn’t contain any information that could jeopardize national security, officials have launched an investigation.