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Server with Top-Secret Data Stolen

Posted by Zonk on from the don't-walk-around-with-that-stuff dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Usually missing information stories are fairly low key; the loss of a few thousand student records is cause for concern for those involved, but hardly national security. This one is slightly different. The company Forensic Telecommunications Services has announced that a server containing 'thousands of top-secret mobile phone records and evidence from undercover terrorism and organized crime investigations' has been stolen. From the article: 'The company — whose clients include Scotland Yard and the Crown Prosecution Service — has assured the public that the server is security protected, and the breach will not compromise ongoing police operations. The information is made up of either old cases that have passed through the judicial process, or cases that are already in the judicial system and so subject to full disclosure to both defense and prosecution teams.'"

3 of 142 comments (clear)

  1. Top secret public records? by mmarlett · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Which is it: Top secret phone records or information that has already been released in court cases? It doesn't seem like the two are the same.

  2. I could sure trust them by faloi · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Except that their physical security is apparently so poor that I can't imagine their data security is much better.

    "All the data is protected, as long as the thieves don't look at the password sticker hidden inside the case."

    --
    "It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." -Albert Einstein
  3. Re:Wrong Terminology by stewbacca · · Score: 5, Informative
    I was a contractor that handled real Top Secret data and that term is reserved for government classified data only. Contractor's own stuff is neither Top Secret, nor protected under the provisions provided to government Top Secret data. My point is that there are too many stories from JoeBlow, Inc. that report "Top Secret" information being stolen just to sensationalize the story. To working professionals in the Intel field, the notion that Top Secret data was stolen is a national security crisis, only to read in the story that some stupid company lost some data with private information in it.

    True, that many countries share classification terminology. England, Canada, U.S. and Australia, for example, have all worked to synchronize their terms and laws. But the common thread is that these are all covered by government classification guidelines, not the private sector.

    I suppose the info in the story could be "Top Secret" in the true sense of the word, but if this company was a contractor handling real Top Secret (ie, government classified) data, it would be a much bigger story than something buried in slashdot ;-)