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Military on Alert for Killer Coke Cans
DigitalLogic writes "There's a new security threat at some of the nation's military bases -- and it looks uncannily like a can of Coke.
All I can think of is that a furby with a coke can must be the military's worse nightmare."
For those outside of the USA... today's not a business day here because the "4th of July" proper fell on a Sunday, so today is effectively running on a weekend schedule for most things. That's most of the reason why there's not much news coming out today...
Considering the number of times I've seen someone's cell phone go off in a classified meeting, I don't think this is that serious a problem. Hell, I've seen the deputy CIO's phone go off.
I do security
I hate anything linking to CNN.. so here's the Wired article : Paranoia Goes Better With Coke
Yes, it seems ridiculous to outlaw Furbys and Coke cans on base--but it's less ridiculous than having to say, "Well, no sir, General, we hadn't considered that possibility. Yes, sir, I agree that I am grossly incompetent. Sir, I will get that regulation promulgated right away, sir." Even worse is the outside chance that there could be a breach and having to answer to the press.
As to it having a celphone for spying, are celphones banned from all meetings? My guess is most Generals are armed with a celphone.
Yes cellphones are banned from secured areas. That's all cellphones. So if one were to show-up on a military installation carrying a new generation phone with camera, where there are big freakin' "NO cameras, or recording devices allowed" signs, then you are a dumbf*ck idiot who needs to spend some time in the brig.
Note that few such places allow a PDA these days either. Unless of course you want them to significantly disable it for you.
Celphone jammers are realitively cheap and availible. It might be a smarter and more pratical thing to simply use them in conference rooms and not sweat the Majors new lapel phone let alone coke can.
Then again, you're in the military. Might be a hell of a lot smarter to follow some simple orders and save the taxpayers on several fronts.
Urban legends. About the only thing coke is good for besides drinking is cleaning chrome. Some places do clean their floors with seltzer water from a tap in the back of the soda fountain, but no syrup, that'd get everything all sticky. Link. Also try to find episode 5 of Discovery Channels Mythbusters. Probably avalible on p2p, or check the listings.
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
Not related to the topic under discussion I know, but my former platoon sergeant might disagree that Coke cans are not dangerous. His closest friend was killed in Vietnam on his very last patrol before rotating Stateside when he idly kicked a battered Coke can lying by the trail. It had been cleverly booby-trapped by the Viet Cong and he bled to death after it blew off his leg.
We received this 'alert'. Actually,it was only an advisory to inspect cases of Coke to see if they contained a winning can. The can contains both a cell phone and a GPS beacon,neither of which can be brought into secure areas. The Furby scare was based on FUD,this is based on security regs. When you enter a secure area,you leave your cell,pager,PDA,laptop,etc,at the door.
CNN pumped this up. There's zero panic about this.
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They're worried about these overly conspicuous non-standard-looking Coke cans when wrist watch cell phones exist? Now THAT is military intelligence for you! *rolls eyes*
I'm in the military and have received the warning about the coke can's. It's not that the military itself thinks the can's are dangerous, its just the fact that the area's that ARE on alert for them are area's in which cell phones and electronic equipment are restricted items.
The premise of the coke contest is that you open the can, and Coca Cola fly's in with helicopters to bring you your prize. That is fine and dandy for civilians, but on a military base, you can't have Coke flying in helicopters and things.
Not to mention the fact that the cell phone in the can could be used for the inadvertant disclosure of secret data. That is the threat, not terrorism or anything like that.
hrrm.
but the caffeine in it is a diruretic.
No, there's a complete cel-phone handset built into the can.
As far as the military's concerned, though, whether it's two-way or not doesn't matter. The problem from their perspective is that it can transmit. If it can transmit, it can in theory transmit anything. You can see the obvious problem with a device in a sensitive area transmitting a wide-angle video and audio feed of all the documents and discussions about the latest tweaks to the Sidewinder target-seeker algorithms, for example. Given the state of cryptography and steganography, the only way to prevent this is to go to the source and stop all transmissions out of sensitive areas. No exceptions, because as soon as you make an exception you just know one of the bad guys will start working on a way to sneak his stuff into that exception in a hard-to-detect way.
There is a standing rule that ANY electronic brought into one of these secured areas requires prior permission. They do not deny entry to everything - only those things which people could either intentionally or unintentionally use to "easedrop" or spy.
Everyone seems to think that they worry too much about simple things, but here's why... The military performs testing on zillions of electronic devices to determine their weaknesses. They have determined that many communication devices can be hacked or easedropped on without the user's permission - and in a few cases, even when the phone is "off" but battery is still installed. Now, I drag a 12-pack of Coke into my cubicle and set it right next to my classified phone. There's a possibility that someone taps in and intercepts my Coke-phone and listens in on all my classified discussions. No matter how remote the chance, the government will NOt allow this possibility - hence all the fuss about the cans.
Now, just imagine how that cell phone can be used against you by your unscrupulous employer...
A top-secret government program involving instantaneous travel to other solar systems by means of a device known as a st
Actually, this is all a moot point. Any truly sensitive information is stored in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF). A SCIF is protected such that no radio signals can enter or leave the facility. You are searched both when you enter and leave the facility and if you were wearing a camera watch or carrying a camera cell phone, they would be taken and stored until you left. If you walked out of a SCIF and they found one of these devices that they missed on the way in, it would be taken from you and inspected and you would be investigated for bringing it inside in the first place.
That said, the Coke can poses no threat to sensitive information, even if it could transmit sound, which it can't.
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.