Incidents

USB Stick Containing Classified NATO Info Lost in Sweden

And found in a local library

By Bogdan Popa, Security and Search Engines Editor

4th of January 2008, 21:06 GMT

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Such a USB memory stick would be great for the Swedish troops

We've seen similar cases in the past, but this time, the problem sounds a little bit more serious than any time before. First of all, let me present the case: a USB memory stick containing classified NATO information has been found in a Swedish library, but nobody knows for

sure the way it got lost. Obviously, the missing USB caused quite a buzz in the Swedish military system, so a meeting between the local authorities and the foreign military forces has urgently been set up, The Register reported today.

It seems like the stick contained "material on NATO's ISAF peace-keeping force in Afghanistan, as well as an intelligence report on the attempted assassination of Lebanon's defense minister and the murder of Sri Lanka's foreign minister", the same source mentioned above added citing the Swedish daily Aftonbladet. In case someone is found guilty for losing the stick, he/she may face a 6 months in prison sentence, as Colonel Bengt Sandstr�m, of the Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service, considers such a loss unacceptable, The Register added.

As I've said, there were similar cases in the past, but only a few of them concerned stolen or lost USB memory sticks. Remember the case when an employee lost his work laptop containing hepatitis information of lots of patients? That could have easily been avoided, if the employee had used a steel security cable. But this time, it's more difficult because a USB stick is smaller and harder to protect.

The first thing that comes to my mind and that would be able to protect such important information stored on a USB stick is a GPS tracking system that could be incorporated into the device and allow the authorities find its location in no-time. Oops, I guess my imagination goes crazy, but who knows, maybe the smart and extremely tech-savvy Japanese guys will develop such a thing very soon�

TAGS:

usb | memory stick | nato | security

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