Military Bans Removable Media

ShadowStriker said:
Didn't they just start allowing USB devices?
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sigvoror said:
This is PR and not true. All secret+ level computers must use removable hard drives. That way the HDD can be stored in a correctly rated safe when the computer is not in use.
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it may be difficult for an outsider to understand exactly what is happening, due to ambiguity with the headline and in the article itself.


they did just start allowing widespread us of USB memory sticks again-----in the unclassified networks (NIPR).

mounting a hard drive in a removable bay in order to lock it up in a safe after use is much different from what this article is referring to as removable media.

locking out use of any external media will effectively limit reading and writing of classified data to the classified hard drives and the classified network itself. See: you'd basically have to steal the hardrive to transport the data outside of the network. This is much easier to track, due to ACLs and daily accountability on classified safes.
 
deathhorse said:
rofl so could this mean a solidier gets a DD for using a flash drive with his family pictures on it.
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why would you need to transfer your family pictures to a military computer?

You are technically not even supposed to have that stuff on unclassified military computers (nevermind classifed). Its unecessary to the mission and represents risk to OPSEC. Of course that gets all jumbled now that you have access to social networking on unclassifed networks. But the rule stands for local storage on your machine.
 
This is a response to concerns over security in the after math of wiki leaks?
 
Sobek said:
I was in Afghanistan when the ban happened in 2008. I was told the reason was that somone put a USB drive onto one of the mission computers on the plane and a virus got on it and caused all sorts of mayhem. Both stories seem equaly plausible.
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as a person that loads mission computer data i can tell you that story is a fucking load of shit
 
When I was still in the Air Force, I could have very easily gotten the removable SIPRNet HDD home, copied it, and back before anyone else checked the safe again. There were many times that I was the only person in the building and we had no cameras to monitor us in the secured area (besides the fact that the cameras our flight did have, I was the one monitoring). However, I know that this type of removable media does not fall into the ban, I was just pointing it out because the article made it sound like all forms of removable media is being banned, period, and this is not the case. It is just the media that has not been approved, so basically what a GI might bring in from home. Also, like I said before, some of the data has to be backed up on CD. These computers are not owned by the Air Force, they are own by DESC (Defense Energy Support Center) and are subject to their rules. However, they deal with military information that is classified at the Secret level. So, there is a set of CDs in those offices that are Secret classified, but they are not kept in the safe. They sit in a CD case in the office. The office is secured, but trust me, the list of people authorized access into the area (whether they have the doors combination or not) is way too big. There is a lot of ways the government could improve their compsec, they are just saying this for PR because of the backlash they are getting from Wikileaks and that kind of shit. One of the major problems, if not the main problem, is that too many people have access to information that they do not need to perform their job. You limit who gets what, you lessen the chance of leaks.
 
sigvoror said:
When I was still in the Air Force, I could have very easily gotten the removable SIPRNet HDD home, copied it, and back before anyone else checked the safe again. There were many times that I was the only person in the building and we had no cameras to monitor us in the secured area (besides the fact that the cameras our flight did have, I was the one monitoring). However, I know that this type of removable media does not fall into the ban, I was just pointing it out because the article made it sound like all forms of removable media is being banned, period, and this is not the case. It is just the media that has not been approved, so basically what a GI might bring in from home. Also, like I said before, some of the data has to be backed up on CD. These computers are not owned by the Air Force, they are own by DESC (Defense Energy Support Center) and are subject to their rules. However, they deal with military information that is classified at the Secret level. So, there is a set of CDs in those offices that are Secret classified, but they are not kept in the safe. They sit in a CD case in the office. The office is secured, but trust me, the list of people authorized access into the area (whether they have the doors combination or not) is way too big. There is a lot of ways the government could improve their compsec, they are just saying this for PR because of the backlash they are getting from Wikileaks and that kind of shit. One of the major problems, if not the main problem, is that too many people have access to information that they do not need to perform their job. You limit who gets what, you lessen the chance of leaks.
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Cool, now I know where to go find where you backup your stuff.
 
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