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New Zealand man buys MP3 player with U.S. troop data

Buyer of used MP3 player finds sensitive data, including Social Security numbers for American soldiers, on device.

Elinor Mills Former Staff Writer
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service and the Associated Press.
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Elinor Mills

A New Zealand man who bought a used MP3 player from an Oklahoma thrift store found names, cell phone numbers, and Social Security numbers of American soldiers on the device, according to news site TVNZ.

Chris Ogle, who paid $18 for the device, also found lists of soldiers based in Afghanistan, personnel who fought in Iraq, and equipment deployments, as well as private information about soldiers, including which ones are pregnant.

The US Army and the American embassy declined to comment to TVNZ's ONE News.

Last year, a British labor agency had to shut a Web site after a flash drive containing confidential passwords was found in the parking lot of a pub.