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On eBay you can literally buy anything, too devices that belonged to the US military containing sensitive data. Proof of this was Matthias Marx, a researcher who works in the field of data security, who claims to have purchased on eBay for under $100 a US military device used to capture and collect biometric data of 2,632 people. The data in question included fingerprints, iris scans, pictures and descriptions of troops, terrorists and people who may have collaborated with the US military in Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern countries.
The device in question is a SEEK II, a small laptop which can capture photos, fingerprints and iris scans. The model being sold on eBay appears to have been last used in 2012 near Kandahar. More generally, this type of device has been used by the US Army during missions abroad, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan. The acquired data is stored on a memory card which – and it is another aspect of the story that amazes – guarded them in unencrypted formatdespite their obvious delicacy.
According to the researcher’s analysis, the only obstacle that prevented access to the data was represented by a easily cracked password. The judgment of Matthias Marx is harsh, who declared to the New York Times:
The US military didn’t even try to secure any data. They either didn’t care about the risk or ignored it.
It is easy to understand that the exposure of this sensitive data could have put many people at risk, think, for example, of the informants who collaborated with the US army in Afghanistan. According to initial reports, the device had been listed for $68 on eBay by a Texan seller who in turn had bought it in a lot of disused army equipment.
The SEEK II device is a mini computer designed for capturing biometric data.
To contextualize the news, it should be noted that the phenomenon of the sale of decommissioned military objects is not limited to the device in question. Matthias Marx is part of the Chaos Computer Club which has been looking for similar products for some time: over time, the group of researchers managed to purchase six devices used by the US army to collect biometric data at checkpoints, during patrols or other military operations. Memory cards loaded with data were still present in two of the six devices.
The story in question ends with the request from the US Department of Defense to get back the device purchased on eBay.
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