The lives of America’s military men and women are at risk everyday while they serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. Apparently, their identities are on the line, too.
Chris Ogle of New Zealand bought a second-hand MP3 player for $9 while visiting an Oklahoma thrift store last year. He never could get the darn thing to download songs from the Internet, maybe because it already held so many U.S. military files.
Among the “confidential” Department of Defense information are lists of equipment sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, military briefings, and the names, home addresses, cell phone numbers and Social Security numbers of hundreds of soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This is the latest in a string of data security failures affecting servicemen and women. In 2006 a laptop computer containing extensive personal information, including Social Security numbers, of 28.6 million current and former military members was stolen from a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs employee’s home.
In 2007 a computer containing the Social Security numbers of 185,000 current and former military members was found in the home of an auditor who had been employed by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
In an interview with CNN, Pentagon officials said they knew about the MP3 player, but refused to discuss it until it was confirmed that the information actually did come from the U.S. Department of Defense.
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Tags: Data breach, ID theft, Identity Theft, Life Lock, LifeLock, LifeLock promo code, lifelock.com, U.S. Department of Defense
