Army's stolen laptop sparks 'embarrassing' security scare

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Army39s-stolen--laptop-sparks.5283785.jp

By ALAN McEWEN
Edinburgh Evening News
20 May 2009

AN army laptop said to contain the personal details of serving soldiers 
and their families sparked a security scare after it was stolen from a 
car parked near an Edinburgh barracks.

The computer had been left overnight in the vehicle by a Ministry of 
Defence employee a few hundred feet away from Redford Barracks in 
Colinton. It was taken during a smash and grab raid last month.

The laptop was missing until last weekend when it came into the 
possession of a city woman who turned it on to discover confidential 
files.

It was said to have contained personal details on "thousands" of 
soldiers and their relatives, though it is not known whether this was 
password-protected or encrypted.

Several other documents were understood to have been marked as 
"classified".

[...]


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