Citing the prevalence of cybersecurity threats,
the leadership of Army MARS (Military Auxiliary Radio System) is urging all
members to use computers that are not connected to the internet for their MARS
activities.
According to the ARRL Letter,
Army MARS Headquarters Operations Officer David McGinnis, K7UXO, says "we
assume that all computer systems in private citizens' hands are infected with
hostile software code of some sort and are not secured," regardless of
antivirus and malware protection programs.
McGinnis says this is only a
recommendation at this point, but notes that certain exercises will require the
use of computers that are "air-gapped" from the internet.