Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali for 10 years
- The mix-up stems from people sending sensitive information to the ‘.ml’ instead of ‘.mil’ accounts
- The emails contained messages including personal medical records, crew lists for ships and photos of bases
A Dutch entrepreneur said the Russian-allied nation of Mali has for years been receiving millions of US military emails with sensitive information – all because of a typo.
Johannes Zuurbier, who was contracted to manage Mali’s country email domain, said he’s been trying to alert the Pentagon to the potential security issue for the last decade, according to The Financial Times.
The mix-up stems from US military personnel, or people attempting to contact the military, sending their emails to “.ml” accounts – the domain owned by Mali’s government – instead of “.mil” accounts, Zuurbier told the FT.
None of these emails were classified, but some contained highly sensitive information, per the FT. Zuurbier said he was sent information like maps, personal medical records, tax records, crew lists for ships, and photos of bases.
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One email revealed the official travel itinerary for US Army Chief of Staff General James McConville and his delegation to Indonesia in May, which included their room numbers and details like how McConville could collect his room key, per the FT.
Other emails included diplomatic letters, terrorism assessments and briefings, and state department passport numbers.
Zuurbier told the FT he’s seen around 1,000 emails a day being sent to the wrong domain. He’s tried to warn the US by alerting Dutch diplomats, a senior national cybersecurity adviser, and White House officials, but the problem persists, per the FT.
Zuurbier’s contract to manage the domain was set to expire on Monday. This means Mali’s government now has access to the domain and further emails received, per the FT.
Russia has given significant support to the Malian government, including weapons, diplomatic backing, and help with information and disinformation campaigns. The Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary company linked to the Kremlin, also operates in Mali.
A Pentagon spokesperson, Lt. Cmdr. Tim Gorman, told the FT that the defence Department “is aware of this issue and takes all unauthorised disclosures of controlled national security information or controlled unclassified information seriously.”
US military email accounts also notify personnel if they try sending a message to addresses with the “.ml” domain, and will automatically block the email from being sent, Gorman added.
The Pentagon and the Malian government did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.
