SOLDIER USED FAKE LADY GAGA CDS TO SMUGGLE CLASSIFIED DATA
Fake Lady Gaga CD Used to Smuggle Data
July 10, 2010
Associated Press
http://www.military.com/news/article/fake-lady-gaga-cd-used-to-smuggle-data.html
A U.S. soldier smuggled classified data from military computers where he was stationed in Iraq on a disc disguised as a Lady Gaga CD, Pentagon officials said.
Officials told The New York Times they discovered the fake disc while investigating Pfc. Bradley E. Manning, 22, who is charged with downloading more than 150,000 diplomatic cables as well as secret videos and a PowerPoint presentation.
Manning allegedly hummed and lip-synched Lady Gaga tunes as he downloaded classified information onto the disc, capable of accepting text, video and other data files at an intelligence center in the desert of eastern Iraq, the Times reported.
The Defense Department banned the use of USB drives and other removable storage devices in 2008 for security but the ban did not extend to CDs.
Adrian Lamo, a former hacker who had traded electronic messages with Manning, told the Times the private had expressed unhappiness with the Army and described how he downloaded classified data.
Lamo said Manning told of using data-storing CDs tucked inside recognizable music CD cases so he could “bring the data out of the secure room.”
Manning is accused of downloading and removing the classified data from last November to May.
Pentagon officials said they would review the actions of Manning’s supervisors to determine whether security had been lax. Officials also plan to look at possible red flags such as an allegation Manning had downloaded classified information not directly related to the mission of his unit, the Times said.
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