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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."
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
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."
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.
==== Warning:this poster contains subject matter that may be offensive. Flaming discretion is advised.
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.
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.