A not so secret service?
Sir John is due to take up his post as chief of the Secret Intelligence Service in November, when he will be in charge of Britain's spying operations abroad. His wife, Lady Shelley Sawers, added information on where the family live and work, their friends and where they go on holiday, onto Facebook recently, but put no privacy protection onto her account - meaning that 200 million users in the London network could see everything.
On one side of the fence, Foreign Secretary David Miliband denied claims security had been compromised, saying: "You know he wears a Speedo swimsuit. That's not a state secret."
Whereas, Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, told the BBC: "A great deal of taxpayers' money has been spent over the past several decades making sure he and his family are protected from security compromises. Well, it doesn't seem to be very relevant any more, does it?"
I think that this case highlights the growing need to inform people about how to protect their personal information online. We all need to be aware of the consequences of adding material onto the world wide web – as it could lead to personal details being used fraudulently or could potentially be damaging for employers.
Many social network providers offer standard default settings that leave personal information open to wide audiences. But more could be done by these providers to make users aware of security settings that will protect their details.
It’s also the up to employers to ensure their internal communications includes guidelines on how to communicate online – both for business and personal purposes. It’s not about avoiding social networking, but practicing safe social networking.