Secret Military Gear Found For Sale On eBay, Craigslist

Information Week:

Sensitive military items are being offered for sale through eBay and Craigslist, the Government Accountability Office said in a report issued Thursday, a practice that puts U.S. service members and allies at risk.

"GAO found numerous defense-related items for sale to the highest bidder on eBay and Craigslist," the report said. "A review of policies and procedures for these Web sites determined that there are few safeguards to prevent the sale of sensitive and stolen defense-related items using the sites."

The GAO conducted its investigation between January 2007 and March 2008. Through eBay and Craigslist, the agency's investigators were able to buy two F-14 components from separate sellers, night-vision goggles with a sensitive component that allows U.S. service members to identify friendly forces, an Army combat uniform "that could be used by a terrorist to pose as a U.S. service member," body armor vests, and body armor protective plates.

Read the whole story: Information Week

Comments

[JBS]

You might want to consider a lot of this stuff ends up being bought by US servicemen deploying to Iraq ... and wonder why that is.

[nanotubz]

The military depot system crashed decades ago because of the lack of funding for modernization and real salaries. The fact that the depots tend to get commanders on their last tour, or marking time to mandatory retirement adds to the problem. The press, Congress and the GAO keep rediscovering the same problem every 4 to 5 years, and act as if it's something new.

[twgbonehead]

From the article:
"there are few safeguards to prevent the sale of sensitive and stolen defense-related items using the sites."

Nice of the GAO to blame the websites. It provides a convenient deflection from the fact that these supposed "Military Secrets" have ALREADY been lost from their control. Whether they're for sale on e-bay or in a dark alley, the damage has already been done, and the technology has been released into the "private domain".

But will we hear about the military security lapses that allowed this equipment to escape in the first place? The GAO needs to understand that once top-secret equipment is lost or allowed to be stolen, it's not top-secret anymore. (Not to mention that if e-bay asked for a list of military equipment that should be prohibited from their site, they'd get back a "That's classified" response!)

[DirkdenHartogNL]

Yep I bought some for some of my Iraqi and Iranian friends.

Perhaps it might help them defeat the Nazi slime invaders.

[larry278]

It may be necessary to scan the comments on this story/blog every 3 hours or so to get a handle on this f#ck-up. One wonders if Iran's allegedly grounded aircraft will be made air worthy shortly & will be used if the USA tries to bomb &/or invade Iran before W leaves office. Is the F 14 capable of being an interceptor[sp?] &/or fighter/bomber in 2008? That mystery could be solved if US aircraft or ISRAELI Air Force attack Iran.
Iran's Islamic Air Force may already have a reliable source of reliable parts for its US supplied, obsolete aircraft.

[religionofpeace]

No worries about that. The F-14 requires computers to fly, as well as the appropriate programming. besides having shot up (stupid kid with an AK) the equipment that maintains the F-14 avionics, the grumman techs fried the software (which was stored on mag tapes) before they left.

Personally, I'd love to see the iranians try to fly the tomcats. But only from a safe distance. Tomcats make big holes whenthe auger into the deck.

[gcallaghan]

For Sale - Best offer -Thermonuclear warhead - new in box - never used. Real collecters item. Impress your friends. Wife want it gone this weekend.

[FreedomCorpse]

Of course record foreclosures and job losses aren't sensitive, but we're 'safe' from the boogeyman.