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Military Secrets for Sale on Stolen USB Drives

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the find-the-battleship dept.

nTrfAce writes "Per a BBC Article, "US forces in Afghanistan are checking reports that stolen computer hardware containing military secrets is being sold at a market beside a big US base. Shopkeepers at a market next to Bagram base, outside Kabul, have been selling memory drives stolen from the facility, the Los Angeles Times newspaper says.""

8 of 225 comments (clear)

  1. Strong encryption by VincenzoRomano · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I hope that those soldiers were using strong encryption for file systems.
    I hope that those soldiers were not storing sensible data on those drives.
    I hope that those soldiers were not storing weird photos involving prisoners ...
    Real world tends to be different from hopes!

    --
    Maybe Computers will never be as intelligent as Humans.
    For sure they won't ever become so stupid. [VR-1988]
    1. Re:Strong encryption by meringuoid · · Score: 5, Insightful
      I hope that those soldiers were not storing weird photos involving prisoners ...

      If soldiers have been abusing prisoners, I'd prefer them to photograph themselves doing it and then store those photographs on disks which are later stolen and leaked to the press.

      Otherwise, how will we ever know what our armed representatives abroad are doing in our names?

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
    2. Re:Strong encryption by RandoX · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "The truth" is subjective.

  2. Why? by bl00d6789 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Let me be the first to ask: Why the hell is the military storing sensitive data on USB drives, which are prone to both theft and failure?

    1. Re:Why? by michaelhood · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Policy and practice are often quite distant from each other in reality. Especially in government; military or otherwise.

    2. Re:Why? by 1u3hr · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Let me be the first to ask: Why the hell is the military storing sensitive data on USB drives, which are prone to both theft and failure?

      Most likely it's just sneakernet; moving files from laptop to PC etc. After transferring the files they forget to wipe the USB stick. The army will probably try to stop this by mandating it not be done. Which will work for a while till troops rotate and a new batch come in. The only real solution is to physically disable USB ports, which would be difficult with the number of legitimate USB peripherals now. Otherwise everything needs to be transparently encrypted. The military fears losing access to critical data in battle more than possible security breaches though.

  3. why/when. by rew · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why and when are rules ignored?

    Here in the Netherlands, there has been a series of cases where sensitive information has leaked through stolen/lost hardware, and every time some official was breaking the rules.

    The rules were unworkable: DO NOT TAKE YOUR WORK HOME.

    So, no reading of a report on the train, no after-dinner report writing. Nothing. Ambitious people break the rules to perform better. So they take stuff home anyway. As long as the hardware doesn't get stolen, nothing is noticed. Big publicity when sensitive information makes it to the press.

    But if they were to start policing the policy, a lot of the ambitious people would eventually give in to the rules, and simply watch tv after dinner, and read the newspaper on the train. Results? Productivity drop.

    1. Re:why/when. by Darren.Moffat · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "Results? Productivity drop."

      I personally disagree, in my experience you actually in the longer term get a productivity increase. Why ? because the people are more relaxed and more refreshed with a balanced lifestyle that isn't all "work work work". People who constantly take work home are marters to the job or just really bad at planning.