Mattis Could Ban Cellphones at Pentagon

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis is looking into the use of cellphones at the Pentagon, and he could order a ban or place new rules on using them in the building, the Washington Examiner reported Wednesday.

The new rules would affect about 24,000 military and civilian employees in the building, and includes all personal electronic devices, the newspaper reported.

The Pentagon did not confirm or deny that Mattis was considering such a ban, the Examiner said.

"DOD (the Department of Defense) is always assessing security threats and will implement the necessary measures to further enhance our information technology infrastructure and prevent the compromise of sensitive or classified information," Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning said, the Examiner reported.

Manning on Monday confirmed that Defense Department policies on electronic devices were under review.

Security concerns about electronic devices were highlighted on Sunday, when The Washington Post reported that a GPS tracking company could keep track of locations and movements of subscribers to the company's fitness service.

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