Dan Warne27 January 2009, 9:50 AM
A New Zealander has inadvertently gained access to US military secrets after buying an old MP3 player for $NZ18 ($14.50) from an op-shop.
Chris Ogle, 29, of Whangarei, said the MP3 player has never worked as a music player, but when he connected it up to his computer, he found 60 files listing classified US Military details.
The files, mostly dated from 2005, detailed the names and mobile phone numbers of soldiers stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as other locations overseas. It also included social security numbers of the soldiers -- numbers that are confidential to Americans because of identity theft and fraud risks.
Television network TVNZ called some of the numbers and found they were still connected and in use by soldiers in the field.
There was also a secret mission briefing stored on the MP3 player.
How the files came to be loaded onto an MP3 player, and subsequently deposited at an op-shop in is so far a mystery.
However, the files on the player are boldly marked with warnings that their public release would be "prohibited by federal law".
"The more I look at it, the more I see and the less I think I should be!" Ogle told TVNZ.
Responses on tech news aggregator Slashdot suggested that although Ogle's find sounds unusual, the US Military is actually remarkably lax when it comes to security.
"I would have thought so, too, until I spent a few years in the US military," said user "NewbieProgrammerMan". "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 service members getting caught with garages full of new and/or used stuff."
Another user, "DelgadoRandom" said, "Military personnel are also favoured targets for petty thefts while on leave. In many European countries, the Army provides unmarked, but so obviously government vans (read: plain white 'child molester' type) for use by service members there on training rotations when they want to take in the sights. Thefts and break-ins are rampant as a result, esp. in parking lots near popular tourist sites."
Other Slashdot discussion revolved around why overly restrictive rules may have led to the MP3 player being used to store the files in the first place.
"The problem is, if you ban storage devices, you're gonna have to provide an equally convenient way to move data around. Otherwise everyone's going to find their own method. The issue is that rules are made, but the rulemakers don't realize the reason why people were doing what they were doing. Banning the devices without an equally convenient alternative will just result in people finding workarounds," said user tlhlngan.