The launch procedures for a U.S. military missile air defense system were found on a second-hand hard drive bought on eBay, researchers [have] revealed.
More than 300 hard disks were studied and researchers uncovered other sensitive information including bank account details, medical records, confidential business plans, financial company data, personal ID numbers and job descriptions.
The drives were bought from the UK, America, Germany, France and Australia through computer auctions, computer fairs and eBay.
The exercise was carried out by BT’s Security Research Centre in collaboration with the University of Glamorgan, Edith Cowan University in Australia and Longwood University in the U.S.
A spokesman for BT said they found 34 percent of the hard disks scrutinized contained “information of either personal data that could be identified to an individual or commercial data identifying a company or organization”.
The researchers concluded that a “surprisingly large range and quantity of information that could have a potentially commercially damaging impact or pose a threat to the identity and privacy of the individuals involved was recovered as a result of the survey.” Perhaps most surprising was the discovery of a disk bought on eBay that revealed details of test launch procedures for the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) ground to air missile defense system, used to shoot down Scud missiles in Iraq.
The disk also contained security policies, blueprints of facilities and personal information on employees, including social security numbers, belonging to technology company Lockheed Martin — which designed and built the system.
Two disks appear to have been formerly used by Lanarkshire NHS Trust to hold information from the Monklands and Hairmyres hospitals, including patient medical records, images of X-rays, medical staff shifts and sensitive and confidential staff letters.
In Australia, one disk came from a nursing home and contained pictures of patients and their wounds.
Confidential material including network data…