Large-Scale Theft in US Navy - 21 October, 2002 - News

About 600 computers were stolen, including those which contained classified information
Another grand scandal broke out in the US Army. It has become a tradition that such scandals are connected with computers, to be more precise, with the way computers are used and stored.

The US Navy Auditing Service decided to audit the US Pacific Fleet. Results of the auditing shocked the Navy auditors and inspectors. Following them, Reuters news agency became shocked as well. As the agency reports, the auditing revealed that about 600 PCs were mising. Some of them had been used in work with classified information (it’s interesting, but are there any other kinds of materials that Navy officers might use on PCs?)

Right after the unhappy discovery, suspicion arose that the classified information kept in the stolen PCs could be used against the USA. What is more important is that US security will suffer seriously in both cases, no matter if the classified information falls into the hands of terrorists or of the intelligence service of another country.

As news agencies report, the US Pacific Fleet command didn’t want to publish the results of the auditing. It is clear that the Navy admirals didn’t want to look idiots in the eyes of the public, as the auditing wasn’t conducted of the whole of the US armed forces or the Navy, but only of the Pacific Fleet.

However, one question arises: what if computers with classified information disappear not only in the US Pacific Fleet, but in the whole of the US military as well? If this is so, it is going to develop into an even bigger scandal.

In any case, it is too early for military commanders to fear losing their jobs. Let’s remember that 3-4 months ago, two computers with classified information disappeared from the US Military Intelligence; however, they were later found. One of the PCs was at the home of an Intelligence officer. Isn’t it possible that seamen also took a few PCs home and now don’t dare to confess?

Vasily Bubnov PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Maria Gousseva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/1/last_news_3.html

Related links: