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Security Concerns

J

jdhaenens

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378
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unitedstates
The other day, I got an email that really ticked me off. Someone had shown some work in progress screenshots of my NAS Pensacola scenery to the folks in charge of the base. The email asked how I’d come upon the photos I used to derive the textures used and asked me to take down the pictures until an investigation was completed on how flightline security could have been compromised with these renderings.

I have a confession to make to those folks who do not know me: I am a retired United States Naval Officer. These folks that wrote the email were my brethren, and they were accusing me of torpedoing the brotherhood. I was incensed. I of course wrote the most kindly worded (not) email back to inform them of my displeasure.

The words indignant, high-horse, accusatory, bullying, overbearing and McCarthyism were either used or described the content of the email. I even CC’d an Admiral (an old shipmate) who had headed up a study of the Navy in Cyberspace.

All of this earned me an almost instant email and personal (over the phone) apology from the folks at Pensacola. Victory was mine! So why couldn’t I sleep last night?

For one thing the fight wasn’t about me or my ego. It wasn’t about how accurate the scenery was. It was really about a guy who was trying to protect his folks.

Even if you retire out of the same business as it were, it’s hard to remember how much you did and how concerned you were about the safety of your folks. It’s true. I would have gone to the ends of the earth and risked the big one for the folks in my charge and most (there were those who I’m sure absolutely hated me when they were behind on their qualifications, or stupid on the beach) would do the same for me.

That’s what it was really about and I’d like to publicly apologize for forgetting.

In the Flight Simulation world, “As real as it gets” can turn into a two edged sword. I had literally hundreds of pictures of Pensacola. I dumped them after I finished the project. I don’t even remember where I got most of them. Some of them were from friends that go to Pensacola for the air show. Apparently, I was able to piece together a pretty accurate representation of what the flight line looks like.

It’s a chilling thought that these pieced together views which may be ok separately could put someone at risk. Some folks probably did take pictures in areas where they shouldn’t have and me being from the submarine side of the Navy didn’t realize it.

I can’t do anything about Pensacola. As I told the folks there, “Pandora is already out of the box” and she won’t be returning any time soon. The point of this public mea culpa and apology is to let the community know what hazards we face and what I would recommend as a standard for all developers:

With my military sceneries I do not model:

Entry Gates
Anti-terrorism measures
Utilities
Emplacements
Drainage
Security cameras
Flamable storage. (I still model bunkers as an essential part of what makes a place military)
Any other security features other than obvious guard towers, etc.

I do model:

Buildings, hangers, all the signage I can find, runway and tarmac markings, lighting, and fences only to the extent that a civilian airport would have…and I’m a little lax on the accuracy of the fenced perimeter.

IMO this should be standard for civilian airports as well.

Just think about it. Take some time. I know that Flight Simulator is probably not a trove of terrorist information, but why should we let it be?

Jim Dhaenens
 
A big Bravo Zulu to you, Jim!

It's a good thing to keep security in mind.

Being a Vet myself, I appreciate it, truly! :cool:
 
Hi Jim,

These are indeed good points to be aware of. For the Dutch scenery we made I think the general rule for military fields was: if you can see it from the public road, we can model it.

But in the current world you are right, also for (big) civil airports we should be careful about what we model and what we do not model. The location of security gates, etc on those can also be sensitive information.

Maybe that is why modelling GA airports is most fun in general, you can really add all the detail you wish :D.
 
I think this highlights the fact that people need to take care when they're in possession of privileged information of any kind.

I've modelled a military training facility before and ensured I had proper authority to take the source photos. Even then I omitted to model the entrance and guard house. (Had I modelled it fully you'd see all the building keys hanging up in the window!) This was for a military simulation demo though, not a public release so permission was straightforward to get.

Similarly, modellers with military or mil-industrial knowledge need to bear in mind that any aircraft systems and behaviours they model need to be fully documented in the public domain to avoid any commercial confidentiality or security concerns.

The use of photos taken at work while in the military or a commercial contractor even if authorised are probably still covered by Official Secrets Act (UK) or equivalent national legislation. Last thing we want is governments taking a closer look at our hobby and deciding we all pose a threat to national security!

A reasonable rule of thumb to go by would be: if you can see it on Google Earth then it's Public Domain.

It's good that in this case rationality prevailed, but the outcome could have been very different.

Si
 
Jim,
Thank you for your very timely post. I say very timely because I am currently neck-deep in modeling a large military facility as well. Having never been to the facility, I am relying entirely on imagery found online (which should be relatively safe). Even so, I have been able to find an astonishing amount of VERY high quality imagery and documentation on the facility's layout (all presumably public domain).

I am going to adopt your "model/don't model" list wholesale. I will also be contacting the facility's PR office before releasing the scenery (that should be an interesting conversation). Several members of my family are in the military and I would hate to think I'd be putting any of their co-workers at risk.

Thanks for the heads up.

Z

P.S. -as a side note, any chance of you converting (out of the box) beautiful Pensacola to FS2004? I'd be happy to help with the conversion.
 
I am of a different opinion. I am ex services and also work at an international airport, thus security has been part and parcel of my life for many years.

We live in a world where we are all "apparently" under a constant cloud of the threat of an unseen enemy.

I think it is a loss if we worry to much about these things and a win for the other guys, the reality is that an enemy is not going to select a target based on some great FS scenery they happened to come across.

With the likes of high res google earth imagery out there, i think anything we do is at the likelyhood of providing relvent info for a would be attacker.

If me as a developer can go to an airshow, or purchase data of a provider, or ask a guy who knows a guy to take some photos, so can any one else.

You can't stop some one determined enough and as i said i very much doubt some FS scenery is going to be desciding factor that an attack will succeed.

In simple terms Aviation and Military targets are too hard and probably the least likely anymore.
 
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