A New Zealand man who bought a second-hand MP3 player in a thrift shop while visiting Oklahoma got more than he bargained for.
It seems the player’s onboard memory contained personal information on U.S. military personal including names, telephone numbers, Social Security numbers, notes from mission briefings in Afghanistan and even information on pregnant U.S. military personnel.
Unwitting buyer Chris Ogle wasn’t sure what he had inherited but…
“The more I look at it, the more I see and the less I think I should be looking,” he told TV New Zealand, describing his discovery of the files.
Peter Cozens, the Director of the NZ Centre for Strategic Studies, opined as the “leak” would not seriously effect U.S. national security. The information is apparently dates from 2005.
Similar incidents in the recent past involving thumb drives and other USB devices resulted in a total ban on removable media drives in U.S. military installations.
No comment from the U.S. embassy in New Zealand.