29-7-2023 (LONDON) British authorities have launched an investigation into an incident that saw officials from the UK Ministry of Defense mistakenly send emails intended for U.S. military intelligence to the government of Mali, a Russian ally. The emails were supposed to be sent to the Pentagon but were sent to Mali’s government instead due to a typo in the email domain name. The Pentagon’s domain name ends with “.mil,” while Mali’s is “.ml.”
The Times reported that while most emails sent to Mali were innocuous, some contained “detailed descriptions” of British research into hypersonic missiles. However, the Ministry of Defense denied the Times’ claims, stating that fewer than 20 routine emails were sent to an incorrect domain and that no breach of operational security or disclosure of technical data had occurred. The Ministry of Defense said that the emails of this kind are not classified as secret or above, and an investigation is ongoing.
The incident has prompted the Ministry of Defense to undertake a program to improve information management, data loss prevention, and the control of sensitive information. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense said that all sensitive information is shared on systems designed to minimize the risk of misdirection.
This is not the first time that such an incident has occurred. Earlier this month, the Financial Times reported that millions of emails meant for the Pentagon had been sent to Mali due to the same typo. The investigation found that some of these emails contained sensitive information such as diplomatic documents, tax returns, passwords, and officers’ travel details.
