Marines solidify ban on Facebook, Twitter

"The Marine Corps has got to find a balance between security and letting Marines capitalize on the technology," Thomas said in an interview with Computerworld. "We don't want information leaks and we want to keep Marines and we wanted to save bandwidth. We're trying to find the fine line."

Thomas noted that 30 years ago, soldiers were warned about revealing too much information in letters home. Then 10 years ago, they were warned about how they used e-mail. Today, the focus is on social networks.

"You can't have someone posting, 'Hey, we're leaving on this date and at this time,'" he added. "Believe me, the enemy is checking out what you guys are reporting and what service men and women are saying online. The Marine Corps instills operational security. They need to be cognizant of what they're saying, whether verbally or what they're saying on social networking sites."

Ken van Wyk, principal consultant at KRvW Associates, said the Marines have several avenues of concern with social network use and they're probably right on track with most of them.

"If they're concerned about the platform -- whether Facebook itself is secure -- then their concerns should go far beyond just Facebook," van Wyk said. "Any site that permits active content into the user's browser runs the same risk. Facebook is just one of many."