US Army Files Found On Second-Hand MP3 Player

MichaelSmith writes "A New Zealand man who bought a second hand MP3 player from a store in the US found it loaded with the names and personal details of American soldiers, as well as a mission briefing and information about equipment. Chris Ogle says he will return the unit to the US Defense Department if asked, and that it never worked as a music player anyway. A slightly different version of the story is available from TVNZ."

Comments

I'd hate to be the original owner

[MikeRT]

Few seemingly innocuous things can get you in greater trouble in any part of the federal government, especially the DoD than bringing a personal portable storage device into an area that is restricted. Copying sensitive information onto one is, itself, a very serious offense that if a soldier gets caught doing will not only revoke any security clearance they had but quite possibly end their career in the federal government.

Re:what are the exit policies of the army?

[NewbieProgrammerMan]

i would think that in an organization as large and as stereotypically stringent as the us army that they'd have some sort of exit policy for equipment and personnel.

I would have thought so, too, until I spent a few years in the US military. You'd be amazed how much and what kind of stuff makes it past policies (exit or otherwise). When I lived in a military town, it seems like I'd see a story every year or so about about service members getting caught with garages full of new and/or used stuff.