ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE BASE DARWIN, Australia -- On any military installation computer security is mandatory at all times to safeguard computer systems and sensitive electronic material.
However, while on deployment the importance of computer security steps up a notch when dealing with an unsecured network ? especially when viruses enter the system.
That is why Lance Cpls. J.T. Brogdon and Christopher Bones are deployed to Southern Frontier 2003, a deployment for Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan?s squadrons to practice air-to-ground core competency training by expending live ordnance out of the squadrons' non-combat allowances.
Before the introduction of the W32 worm viruses "Blaster" and "Welchia," Brogdon, Bones and their predecessors were simply tasked with setting up and maintaining small office networks for printer and Internet use, according to Brogdon, a small computer systems specialist with Marine Aircraft Group 12.
However, when the viruses infected the system, their every day tasks turned into updating and fixing the networks one machine at a time.
"In Iwakuni the machines are protected by the anti-virus servers, however, since we are away from the main network we are not protected at all," said Brogdon. "When the viruses started infecting the systems we had to go around to every computer and upload the new virus definitions and security patches which are updates for the anti-virus software and kills the latest bugs in the operating system."
In order to do this, Brogdon and Bones have to download the new information to a floppy disk and plug it into each individual computer.
"Battling the viruses has been very time consuming, and going around from computer to computer is very repetitive," said Bones, a technician with the Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 Aviation Information Systems Division.
Although the viruses are currently cleared from the computer systems here, Brogdon and Bones must repeat the process every time new virus definitions or security patches are released in order to keep the networks clean.
Despite the tediousness of controlling the viruses, the two Southern Frontier 2003 computer techs have still been able to have an enjoyable deployment, according to Bones.
"Even though we have been busy fighting this virus we are still enjoying our deployment," said Bones. "So far I have gotten to see some crocodiles, drove some go-carts and am basically doing anything I can to have a good time."