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."

And the previous owner was?

[El Torico]

The Army should ask for the return of the MP3 player (and pay for it), find out who put the files on it, and punish them. I don't expect that to happen.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Daily occurrence

[mseeger]

Hi,
i would expect this to happen on a daily basis. Usually the buyer will not be a journalist but some kid. The typical kid will say "boring stuff" and have those files deleted before finishing yawning. By doing so, they prevent more security leaks than most security officers.
Sincerly yours, Martin

What would you do?

[mwilliamson]

Seriously, I'd just overwrite the device with a utility such as dban [sourceforge.net] then keep my mouth shut, forever. This is the advice I'd offer anyone in this sort of situation. I actually take it a step further in that I dban _every_ used storage device I get without first looking to see what is on it, so I have no clue if I ever received something via a second-hand device that I should not have.

Re:Daily occurrence

[Yvanhoe]

But this happened so many time that it became prevalent and finally, someone with more insight got his hands on one. The performance of a security officer is not measured by the number of leaks he prevented, but by the number of leaks he let go...

Re:And the previous owner was?

[oldspewey]

I'm not sure that announcing this to the news was "the right thing."

I think it was. Divulging the specific contents of the device might be inappropriate, but letting the world know about a screwup like this is most certainly "the right thing."

Re:And the previous owner was?

[Gandalf_Greyhame]

I am just trying to work this out. How is a New Zealand citizen able to commit treason against the US?

treason: (noun) the crime of betraying one's country

Re:Not just the military

[stiggle]

Except they would like you use the USB mouse, USB keyboard to actually do some work :-) Easier to just lock the PC itself inside a cabinet so the end user doesn't have access to the box itself, just the keyboard, mouse, monitor.

Re:And the previous owner was?

[jandrese]

Wouldn't it be easier to just hide it somewhere (out in the woods for instance) instead of involving a third person who could potentially id both of you if the army comes looking?

Re:Do it Chris Ogle!

[omuls are tasty]

Slashdot mods don't get Monty Python references? Dang it, the times they are a-changin...

Re:what are the exit policies of the army?

[tlhIngan]

The Army doesn't used iPods to store data. Service members, however, have a habit of ignoring policies and using whatever storage mechanism is handy to transfer data between systems. I'm in the Navy, and I've seen similar behavior. Yes, there are policies against it on my side as well. Stuff still happens, and this is exactly why we have rules concerning storage devices.

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, which may be as simple as emailing it around.

The issue is that rules are made, but the rulemakers don't realize the reason why people were doing what they were doing. Ban storage devices, and if someone still needs to get data from point A to point B, well, you've just got a bunch of people who are going to find a way to either circumvent the rule, or to find an alternative, which may not be as secure.

Banning the devices without an equally convenient alternative will just result in people finding workarounds. Just don't be surprised what those workarounds are. Interfere with people Getting Stuff Done(tm) without educating them on How to Get Stuff Done without X...

Re:And the previous owner was?

[GooberToo]

If it happened that long ago it may very well be true. Many people don't realize, not so many years ago, the IRS had more power than the CIA or FBI and that changed only after significant IRS reform. IIRC, that changed under the Clinton Administration.

Literally, not many years ago, if the IRS randomly decided you owed money, they would come in, seize all your accounts and assets. You would literal come home from work to find your crying family on the curb and your house boarded up. On arrival, your car would then be seized. You would then be expected to defend your self in rigged IRS court, where YOU had to prove the IRS was wrong, having no money, no house, no cars, and likely, no job. It was not uncommon for people arriving at IRS court to have left from living under a bridge or from other homeless outreach efforts. Employers and friends of these families were common threatened with like-action.

Additionally, if they did discover an honest mistake, they could wait an indeterminate number of years to tell you about it and demand interest and penalties. So what may have been an honest thousand dollar mistake will now cost you your home and retirement account, and maybe even jail time. And did I mention IRS agents would get bonuses for collecting additional fees and properties so it was in their own interest for fuck you over?

So while that specific situation may or may not have happened, rest assured the IRS has done significantly more to many more people who have done nothing but pay their taxes and done the right thing. And that's for a fact. It is far more likely the story is true than not. And if the story is not true, it is likely based on a composite of multiple true stories.

If you don't want to believe this story, fine. But I urge you to search old news stories from the 70s - 90s for such stories. You'll readily find, the horror stories of the IRS are far, far worse.