George Bush makes a surprise Thanksgiving visit to Iraq
In 2003, US President George Bush traveled from his ranch in Texas to Baghdad in order to spend Thanksgiving with the soldiers. Given the sensitivity of the mission, significant security measures were taken; for instance, the VP, Chief of Staff and National Security Advisor were only told of the plan the day prior, the First Lady and his children were told only shortly before departure and his parents were only told after his departure. The press was told that the President would be spending Thanksgiving with family at the ranch, from which he left in an unmarked vehicle, without the normal motorcade, wearing a blue ballcap pulled over his forehead. Misinformation and controlling the flow of information helped to reduce the risk to this activity.

Adam Savage 'GeoTagged'
in 2010, Mythbuster Adam Savage posted a photo of his new Toyota Land Cruiser on his personal twitter account, with the accompanying text, 'Now off to work'. Savvy users were able to view data embedded in the image (called 'metadata' or 'exif data'), which included the gps coordinates at which the picture was taken. This revealed the celebrity's home address, which was soon after posted online. 'I guess it was a lack of concern because I'm not nearly famous enough to be stalked,' quipped Savage, 'and if I am, I want a raise.'

Camp Taji, Iraq
in 2007, the airfield Camp Taji in Iraq came under rocket and mortar attack by insurgent forces. It was later discovered that publicly available information, such as coordinates and tagged information in Google Earth, was able to allow for accurate targeting. Furthermore, subsequent news reports revealed the number and types of helicopters damaged, and the relative proximity of 'near misses'. Further attacks and reporting allowed insurgent forces to accurately adjust fire to devastating effect, resulting in multiple injuries and one casualty.

The 'Manchester Document'
The so-called 'Al Qaeda Handbook" was captured by police in a raid in Manchester, England. This document contained extensive information designed for Al Qaeda operatives in waging war and conducting intelligence operations. In this documents, Al Qaeda estimates that approximately 80% of all actionable intelligence may be gained legally and with little risk from publicly available sources. If Al Qaeda is targeting this class of information, it logically follows that we should be protecting it to an equal degree.