Facebook Faux Pas: MI6 Chief's Details Revealed

As we've said before, you need to be careful what you post on social networking sites like Facebook. It can get you fired, or in this case, expose the personal details of the new head of the U.K.'s MI6.

And the culprit? His own wife. Sir John Sawers will take over as chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (or MI60 in November. However, his wife, Lady Shelley Sawers posted details about their personal lives on Facebook. Not just that, she had almost no privacy protections on their account.

Besides the obvious question of: why would someone in such a sensitive position have a Facebook account, there is the obvious question of why someone in such a sensitive position not have privacy controls in place. The obvious answer is: she simply didn't think about it.

According to the Daily Mail, it seems that Sawers didn't think about it, either.

Nor does it appear that the new intelligence chief - who will be codenamed 'C' once he takes up his post - had considered the potential risks of what his family was revealing to the world. Foreign Office staff are warned about their use of social networking sites when they join the department but MI6 expects its agents to maintain an even tighter secrecy, telling them not to reveal their true role to all but their closest family.

Hmm. Based on the image above that includes messages from Facebook, it's clear the family wasn't been too quiet about his role.  Don't bother looking, however.  The account has been closed.

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Edward Davy called for an inquiry into the matter.

"Normally, I would welcome greater openness in government for officials or politicians, but this type of exposure verges on the reckless."