Mil. data found on iPod

(Updated with correction) A used iPod bought by a New Zealand man, Chris Ogle, has been found to contain critical US military data, according to reports from the region. While unable to play music, the $15 iPod was found by Ogle to contain 60 pages of material related to US personnel, mission briefings and equipment deployments. The information mostly dates back to 2005, but contains names and personal data that remain relevant.

Some of the people named were in the past deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation notes that it when it attempted to call phone numbers mentioned in the documents, some of the appropriate people were still there to respond. Ogle continues to keep the iPod, but says he will hand the player over to the US Department of Defense if asked.

Update: Contrary to earlier accounts, New Zealand's ONE News reports that the player was not an iPod, but rather a more generic device. It and a backup disk have also since been handed over to the country's US embassy, in exchange for a new player; the original one is noted to have specifically had data on military bases in Germany and Iraq, and personal records including Social Security numbers.

by MacNN Staff