Computer Drive Sold At Afghan Bazaar May Hold Names Of Spies For U.S.- LAT

[kpete]

Data Leaks Persist From Afghan Base
A computer drive sold at a bazaar for $40 may hold the names of spies for the United States who inform on the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
By Paul Watson, Times Staff Writer
April 13, 2006

BAGRAM, Afghanistan — A computer drive sold openly Wednesday at a bazaar outside the U.S. air base here holds what appears to be a trove of potentially sensitive American intelligence data, including the names, photographs and telephone numbers of Afghan spies informing on the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

The flash memory drive, which a teenager sold for $40, holds scores of military documents marked "secret," describing intelligence-gathering methods and information — including escape routes into Pakistan and the location of a suspected safe house there, and the payment of $50 bounties for each Taliban or Al Qaeda fighter apprehended based on the source's intelligence.

The documents appear to be authentic, but the accuracy of the information they contain could not be independently verified.

On its face, the information seems to jeopardize the safety of intelligence sources working secretly for U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan, which would constitute a serious breach of security. For that reason, The Times has withheld personal information and details that could compromise military operations.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-disks13apr13,0,1166178.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[tocqueville]

1. why buy it in Afghanistan when you can get it directly in Washington ? nt

[KansDem]

3. Yeah, order them straight off of "eBush." (eom)

[FormerDittoHead]

2. ...and we build TWO BILLION DOLLAR PLANES!??

Military Fiasco by Jim Hightower:
http://www.progress.org/archive/hight1.htm

MAYBE there's a DIFFERENT way to fight the "war on terror"????

[BuyingThyme]

4. Is this fer real?

[TheMadMonk]

5. PICK POCKET: London to a brick

What's the bet, the kid, or someone down the chain, "dipped" this Flash Drive out of someone's pocket in the street.

This sort of leak should be impossible. It should be built into the hardware, that any data trasfer to "Remiovable Storage" is encrypted. And can only be read using similarly equiped hardware.