MP3 player bought in thrift shop holds US military files
A New Zealand man who bought an MP3 player from a thrift shop in Oklahoma found it held 60 U.S. military files, including names and telephone numbers for American soldiers. TV One News said the 60 files contained personal details of U.S. soldiers, including some who had served in Afghanistan and Iraq. A New Zealand security expert said the information should not be in the public domain, but that it did not appear likely to affect U.S. national security.
The U.S. Embassy declined to comment on the incident.
Chris Ogle, 29, from the northern New Zealand city of Whangarei, said he bought the music player at a thrift shop in Oklahoma, and that he found the files when he linked the $18 device to his computer, TV One News reported.
The private information about troops included U.S. Social Security numbers and even which female troops were pregnant.
Details of equipment deployed to bases in Afghanistan and a mission briefing were also found on some files, the report said, displaying names like “Bagram,” a main U.S. base in Afghanistan, from the files on screen.
Some of the files included a warning that the release of its contents is prohibited by federal law. Oh, well, then everything is secure.
BTW, Ogle hasn’t yet heard from the Feds. He offered to turn the MP3 player over if they want it.
