Equipment used by the US military containing data on more than 2,000 people was up for sale on eBay

The Secure Electronic Recording Kit (SEEK II) is designed to record vital data, for example on military missions, and has been used by the US Army. One such device, containing a memory card with data from 2,632 people, was found for sale on eBay.

As I mentioned New York timesThe model was originally on sale for $149.95, but German security researcher Matthias Marx was able to purchase it for $68. The researcher, who is part of a team of specialists looking for vulnerabilities in equipment that records vital data, did not expect to find so much sensitive and confidential information on the device.

According to the analysis made, The equipment, which was last used by the US military in 2012 in Afghanistan, contained an extensive database with names, nationalities, photos, fingerprints and iris readings.

The people in the database included US government employees and individuals who passed through military checkpoints, But also known terrorists and wanted criminals.

right Now, It is not clear how the equipment ended up on eBaysince the sellers refused to explain how to get it, But Matthias Marks’ team found more similar equipment on the online platform. Of the six devices the experts had purchased, two contained sensitive and confidential data.

Another SEEK II that specialists managed to purchase in 2013 was used in Jordan and It contained fingerprints and iris scans from a small group of members of the US Armed Forces.

According to the country’s Defense Logistics Agency, which is responsible for disposing of military equipment no longer in use, Devices like the ones the experts found aren’t meant to end up on the market, let alone on platforms like eBay.

Speaking of the newspaper, the official source for The US Department of Defense states that since it does not have access to the information contained in the equipment, it is not possible, at this time, to confirm the validity of the data or make comments on it. The same source states that any devices that may contain personal information should be returned to the department for further analysis.

It should be remembered that in 2020, researchers from the German cybersecurity company G Data ran into a problem Computer with classified information from the German army to Selling on eBay for 90 euros.

The computer’s hard drive contained information on how to defeat the LeFlaSys Ozelot, an air defense vehicle used by the German military. To access the information, cryptographers did not need to resort to decryption software: the system password was simply “guest”.

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