Why spies should avoid Facebook

A lesson Sir John Sawers—head of Britain's foreign spy service—and his wife learned the hard way

Here's some advice for anyone hoping for a career as a spy, said Nadia Gilani in Britain's The Times. Stay off Facebook. Sir John Sawers—the new head of the U.K.'s Secret Intelligence Service, MI6—learned that the hard way, after his wife, Shelley, posted vacation photos and personal details on the social-networking site. Lady Sawers used no privacy protections, potentially exposing the family's friends and associates to Facebook's 200 million users worldwide.

"Wow," said Foster Kamer in Gawker. John Sawers is "supposed to lead up one of the world's two most powerful secret service organizations. And serious secrets—like where the guy lives, who his friends are, who his family is, and what his wife's favorite Liza Minnelli musical is—have been exposed (along with his Speedos, which terrorists and enemies of the British state everywhere will, at the very least, get a laugh out of)." But, seriously, Laborites and Tories alike are wondering—with good reason—whether to keep this guy on the job.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us