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Show HILLTOP TIMES Hilltop 103 TIMES Fe b ruary , Location information on smartphones poses risk Hilltop Times In a short period of time, smartphones have completely changed the way we live. However, much like Newton's Third Law of Motion (for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction), these changes have had both positive and negative consequences. Positive: Instant messaging and texting allow us to stay in contact with friends and loved ones at all times. If you're a parent concerned about your teenage children, this is a wonderful technology. Negative: The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration estimates that texting while driving caused 1.6 million accidents last year. This led to 330,000 injuries, and texting is involved in almost 25 percent of all car accidents. Positive: Smartphones also allow us to carry a high-resolution camera with us at all times. Many people like to share photos of the places they've been and the experiences they had on popular social media sites like Flicker, Facebook, Instagram, etc. Today, the top six cameras used to upload photos to Flicker are smartphones. Negative: Unknown to most social media users, when they upload an image from a smartphone, it probably contains geotagging information gathered with the phone's GPS that shows the location, date and time the photo was taken. Our military adversaries able to determine the exact location of the helicopters inside the compound and conduct a mortar attack. It destroyed four AF64 Apaches. Fortunately, no personnel were injured or killed in this attack. Adversaries have shown they have both the means and the capability to utilize this information in a real-time scenario. Last June, Sanya Sotkin, a Russian Army Signal Corps soldier, posted a selfie of himself inside an armored personnel carrier on Instagram. Analysis of the metadata, posted with the pictures, showed that he was 38 miles inside the Ukrainian border, although the Russian government continued to maintain there were no Russian military forces Social Media Safety Tips • Be familiar with your smartphone's settings and disable geotagging unless it is absolutely needed. Disable as soon as not needed. • Know your Social Media Privacy Settings and disable these features, if possible. • Don't share unneeded information with the public. • Understand that once something is posted on the Internet, you've lost all control over it or how it will be used. • Think before you click. have proved they can collect this information and use it against us. In 1997, insurgents used metadata posted with pictures against U.S. forces in Iraq. When a new fleet of helicopters arrived with an aviation unit at a base in Iraq, some Army soldiers took pictures on the flight line. From the photos uploaded to the Internet, the enemy was inside Ukraine. Shortly after this was published in the press, the official position was modified to announce exercises with friendly Ukrainian forces. Locational data also poses a risk to our families and our life outside of work. A would-be burglar could easily filter this information to identify a real-time target of opportunity. When you posted those pictures on Facebook of your fabulous Caribbean Cruise, did you really intend to post a real-time advertisement that your house was vacant and ready to burglarized? So, how do we protect our military missions from the adversary and safe-proof our homes and families? Some temporary and seasonal employees eligible for FEHB BY JANIS EL SHABAZZ Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas — Some temporary, seasonal and intermittent employees are now eligible for coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits program, said Office of Personnel Management officials. Temporary, seasonal or intermittent employees who anticipate working 130 or more hours per month for 90 consecutive days are now eligible to receive Debt From 9 hearing is your chance to present your side of the story. It's there to make sure that your voice is heard and that you are being treated fairly. Be alert to the deadlines in the SOR process, seek expert assistance, ask for the opportunity to appear personally before a DOHA Administrative Judge, and bring whatever documentation and character witnesses you can. A written transcript of your testimony and the testimony of any witnesses whom you bring to the hearing will be provided to you free of charge. That transcript, along with copies of any docu- the same coverage and government contribution to premiums as full-time employees. "This expansion of coverage furthers the goal of ensuring that all full-time employees are eligible to enroll in FEHB," said Erica Cathro, an AFPC Human Resources specialist. "This change provides newly eligible employees a way to attain minimum essential coverage, which will also satisfy the Affordable Care Act individual shared responsibility requirement." Newly eligible employees can ments you submit (such as canceled checks, receipts, bank statements, tax returns, settlement agreements, character recommendations, etc.), and the Administrative Judge's recommendations will become a significant part of the record that is forwarded to the officials deciding your security clearance eligibility. Check out the DOHA website for more information on hearings and process. Managing your debts, expenses, income and other personal finance matters is more than just a tactic to guard your security clearance. It's also a day-to-day exercise that can help lead you and your family to financial security. If you enroll within 60 days of being notified of eligibility by the Benefits and Entitlements Service Team. Newly hired temporary, seasonal and intermittent employees who are eligible will also have a 60-day window to enroll. Coverage is effective the first day of the pay period after the employee makes his or her enrollment election. Once employees are eligible for FEHB, they will also be eligible to apply for coverage under the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program. For more need help planning, hit a bump or need assistance with a problem you can't fix along the way, there are a number of resources available to you. Like your installation's PFM, the Department of Defense's Military OneSource offers free financial counseling that can help you better manage your money. If you need a fast and accurate answer to a money question, you can check out Ask CFPB, which has more than 1,000 answers that you can search. Finally, if you have a problem with debt collection or another consumer financial product or service, you can submit a complaint online to CFPB or by calling 855-411-2372. www. HAFEI REALTORS . co m information about FLTCIP visit www.ltcfeds.com. Air Force Personnel Center staffing specialists will ensure eligible employees hired for these types of appointments are aware of the benefit option at the time of hire, based on the work schedule information their selecting official provides. BEST representatives have identified and notified all affected employees who were already onboard. Supervisor certification of hours is required for enrollment in FEHB. Employees who believe they are eligible for FEHB who have not been formally notified should consult their supervisor. For more information about this and other personnel issues, visit the myPers website. For FEHB eligibility and enrollment information, select "Search All Components" from the dropdown menu and enter "28434" in the search window. Air Force retirees who do not have a myPers account can find instructions to create an account at www. retirees.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-120510-068.pdf. 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