[ISN] Report: Hundreds of Navy PCs missing

From: InfoSec News (isnat_private)
Date: Mon Oct 21 2002 - 02:34:24 PDT

  • Next message: InfoSec News: "Re: [ISN] Backdoor LAN"

    Forwarded from: William Knowles <wkat_private>
    
    http://news.com.com/2100-1001-962664.html?tag=fd_top_5
    
    By Reuters 
    October 18, 2002, 5:21 PM PT
    
    The U.S. Pacific Fleet's warships and submarines were missing nearly
    600 computers as of late July, including at least 14 known to have
    handled classified data, according to an internal Navy report obtained
    on Friday.
    
    The fleet, based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, sought to prevent release of
    the Naval Audit Service report, even though it was not classified.
    
    "A release of this information could negatively impact national
    security," wrote Rear Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the fleet deputy
    commander in chief. His comments, dated Sept. 6, were contained in an
    appendix of the report.
    
    The audit service found "a serious risk that PCs containing sensitive
    and classified information have been lost or compromised, which
    presents a threat to national security and a potential embarrassment
    to the Department of the Navy."
    
    All 595 of the missing laptop and desktop computers featured removable
    hard drives, had been leased to the Navy, and were capable of
    processing classified information, the investigators said.
    
    The report, published in its final form this month, was obtained first
    by Defense Week, a trade paper that will publish its story on Monday.  
    Defense Week made excerpts available to Reuters.
    
    The Navy declined comment on the current status of the missing
    computers or any other aspects of the matter.
    
    The audit dealt with only a small fraction of the Navy's computers.  
    The Atlantic Fleet was not examined. And in the Pacific Fleet, shore
    facilities--where most computers are located--were not surveyed.
    
    "At least 595 personal computers, including at least 14 reported to be
    used for classified purposes, and possibly more, remained missing as
    of July 23 from afloat units" of the Pacific Command, the report said.
    
    "Data was not available as to how many of the remaining PCs were used
    for classified processing," added a footnote, leaving open the
    possibility that many more or all of those missing might have handled
    secret information.
    
    The auditors cited a breakdown in management of the leased computers
    and the lack of any system to track them.
    
    
     
    *==============================================================*
    "Communications without intelligence is noise;  Intelligence
    without communications is irrelevant." Gen Alfred. M. Gray, USMC
    ================================================================
    C4I.org - Computer Security, & Intelligence - http://www.c4i.org
    *==============================================================*
    
    
    
    -
    ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org
    
    To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn'
    in the BODY of the mail.
    



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon Oct 21 2002 - 06:04:22 PDT