Editor’s note: Baptist Press is funded by the Southern Baptist Convention. Todd Starnes, who raised the incident in a Fox News story, is a former Baptist Press editor.
NASHVILLE (BP) – Shortly after a Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) spokesman urged Christians not to “rush to judgment” that the military had targeted and blocked the denomination’s website, a military official says malware was to blame.
Lt. Col. Damien Pickart, a Defense Department spokesman, said the military’s software filters detected malware at SBC.net and blocked the website. The malware since has been removed off the website, and the denomination’s website unblocked, he said.
“The Department of Defense is not intentionally blocking access to this site,” Pickart toldThe Tennessean in an email. “The Department of Defense strongly supports the religious rights of service members, to include their ability to access religious websites like that of the SBC.”
Social media sites were buzzing Thursday (April 25) over allegations that the military had blocked the website for other reasons. FoxNews first reported that Southern Baptist-endorsed chaplains on military installations had unsuccessfully tried to access SBC.net, and had received a message: “The site you have requested has been blocked by Team CONUS (C-TNOSC/RCERT-CONUS) due to hostile content.” The site was not blocked at the Pentagon, FoxNews said.
The Associated Press wrote a story summarizing what had happened, and that story was carried on websites around the world. Some Christians focused on the phrase “hostile content” and wondered whether the denomination’s traditional positions on abortion, gay marriage and the Bible were the reason the military was blocking the site.
Chris Chapman, the SBC Executive Committee’s director of information systems, said SBC.net – like the websites of many other organizations – is a target for hackers. He also said the military’s filters are at an “optimum level” in blocking content, not simply “recognizing invading viruses” but also blocking anything that possibly could be harmful.
“This most recent challenge fits into that latter category, and has been dealt with satisfactorily,” Chapman said. “Unfortunately, SBC.net has joined the ranks of other major organizations that are targets for hackers, detractors and activists. Those engaged in destructive creativity will exploit the continuing development of new technologies to cause new harm and threats of harm continually, so this latest challenge is, for us, just another one of the sort we deal with every day. The fact that it ‘made the news’ was certainly a distinguishing feature, but the attempted attack was not all that unusual.”
But SBC.net remains safe to visit, he said.
“Certainly, having adequate virus protection is necessary for us all, but visitors to SBC.net need not worry about harm from visiting our site to any greater degree than they should from any other credible and well-established site,” Chapman said. “If any user suspects a hacking attempt, vulnerability, or virus, or even if there are accessibility issues, we welcome being informed by email. You may contact our IT division directly by emailing us at Webmaster@sbc.net.”
Early Thursday, Roger S. Oldham, vice president for convention communications and relations for the SBC’s Executive Committee, expressed caution against jumping to conclusions.
“Though there have been several instances recently in which evangelical Christians have been marginalized by the broader culture, we think that a rush to judgment that the United States Military has targeted the Southern Baptist Convention as a hostile religious group would be premature,” Oldham said at the time (full statement below).
Following is the full statement from Chris Chapman:
“The recent situation impeding access to our website for some was aggravated by a misunderstanding of a term familiar to those in the information technology field. That term is ‘hostile content.’ To technical administrators, it simply means some sort of vulnerability or virus. It might not even be an actively harmful element, but simply an exploitable or potentially exploitable condition. We now live in an age where defending against or removing ‘hostile content’ is a daily undertaking, especially for any organization that maintains multiple Internet servers.
“As one might expect, the wall of defense for the computer systems of our armed forces is at an optimum level. We appreciate the fact that it goes beyond recognizing invading viruses and includes closing down harmful possibilities. This most recent challenge fits into that latter category, and has been dealt with satisfactorily.
“Unfortunately, SBC.net has joined the ranks of other major organizations that are targets for hackers, detractors and activists. Those engaged in destructive creativity will exploit the continuing development of new technologies to cause new harm and threats of harm continually, so this latest challenge is, for us, just another one of the sort we deal with every day. The fact that it ‘made the news’ was certainly a distinguishing feature, but the attempted attack was not all that unusual.
“Certainly, having adequate virus protection is necessary for us all, but visitors to SBC.net need not worry about harm from visiting our site to any greater degree than they should from any other credible and well-established site. If any user suspects a hacking attempt, vulnerability, or virus, or even if there are accessibility issues, we welcome being informed by email. You may contact our IT division directly by emailing us at Webmaster@sbc.net.”
Following is Oldham’s full statement:
“The Southern Baptist Convention became aware on Wednesday afternoon that some military bases have blocked the SBC.net web site for containing possible ‘hostile’ content. Living in the digital age with internet filters, spam blockers, and virus protection software, we alerted the Army of the problem and sought to obtain their assurance that the word “hostile” did not refer to any religious content on our site.
“Through conversations with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA, formerly known as the Defense Communications Agency) in Maryland and the Defense Press Operations office at the Pentagon in Virginia on Wednesday afternoon and evening, we determined both that the Army was aware of the problem and that it was taking steps to determine the causes. According to reports from both DISA and the Pentagon, the computers in their offices allowed full and free access to SBC.net, though they had received reports from a variety of bases across the nation that our site had been blocked.
“Since then, we have become aware that other branches of the military have also blocked access to the SBC.net Web site. Our Information Technologies department, following its normal protocol, has initiated an internal systems analysis of our server array to determine if there may be hostile or malicious coding on our own site or on any site that may be linked to SBC.net that would cause the Department of Defense filter systems to block access to our Web pages. At this point, it is premature to speculate on the existence, cause, or location of any such potential problem.
“We continue to be in contact with the Department of Defense and are carefully monitoring the situation. Though there have been several instances recently in which evangelical Christians have been marginalized by the broader culture, we think that a rush to judgment that the United States Military has targeted the Southern Baptist Convention as a hostile religious group would be premature.
“At the same time, we express appreciation for the many pastors, church members, and lawmakers who have risen to the defense of our religious liberties, guaranteed by the same United States Constitution every soldier has pledged to defend. We express our gratitude to the Lord for the many men and women in uniform who routinely place themselves in harm’s way in order that our great Republic, based on fundamental rights guaranteed by our Creator and our Redeemer, may continue to stand as a beacon to the world for religious liberty.”
