UK military: iPOD is security risk

[jsw]

Note: CNN headline read "iPOD". Not my typo...

Original story can be found here.

Beginning:

"LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Music fans, beware: Britain's Ministry of Defence has become the latest organization to add the iPod to its list of high-tech security risks.

The pocket-sized digital music player, which can store thousands of songs, is one of a series of banned gadgets that the military will no longer allow into most sections of its headquarters in the UK and abroad.

Devices with large storage capabilities -- most notably those with a Universal Serial Bus (or USB) plug used to connect to a computer -- have been treated with greater suspicion of late by government agencies and corporations alike."

 

[broken_keyboard]

iPod: 10,000 songs or 50 secret documents in your pocket.

 

[juniormaj]

Article not entirely accurate

From BBC News:
"UK military denies ban on iPods"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3891421.stm

 

[FelixDerKater]

Do they also complain about these little USB Flash Drives people are starting to use these days? I think they could be more trouble than an iPod.

 

[kgarner]

Do they also complain about these little USB Flash Drives people are starting to use these days? I think they could be more trouble than an iPod.

Did you not read the last paragrapho f the first post?

Devices with large storage capabilities -- most notably those with a Universal Serial Bus (or USB) plug used to connect to a computer -- have been treated with greater suspicion of late by government agencies and corporations alike.

Any device that can be used to carry lots of data and can be stored in a pocket is going to be a security risk. People act like these institutions that have started to ban iPods have lost their minds. "It's just an MP3 player!" Well, it does more than play music you know.

Sorry about the little rant. It was not against you FelixDerKater. Just getting a little tired of the silliness.

 

[rendezvouscp]

Do they also complain about these little USB Flash Drives people are starting to use these days? I think they could be more trouble than an iPod.

I believe that was in the article.
–Chase

 

[quagmire]

Cough MS bought CNN cough

 

[5300cs]

From the article:

"That's why we had to plug that gap," he said, adding that the policy was put into effect when the MoD switched to the USB-friendly Microsoft XP operating system over the past year.

Uhh, I'd be more worried about XP as a security risk than an iPod. Why go through the trouble of going into the office to get the data, when I can just use an XP back door, get all the data I want, then remotely shut the machine down?