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View Full Version : DoD eases ban on thumb drive use for US military, our enemies rejoice



allaboutsymbian
February 22nd, 2010, 06:05
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2010/02/kim-jong-il-team-america.jpg (http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4505089&c=POL&s=TOP)
Betcha didn't know that USB flash drives (http://www.engadget.com/tag/flash+drive) weren't allowed in the US military. Or maybe you did -- you know, considering that one with Japan-US troop deployment maps went missing (http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/02/usb-drive-goes-missing-with-japan-us-troop-deployment-maps/) in mid-2008. Oops. At any rate, the Department of Defense has reportedly lifted said ban, but as with anything related to The Man, gobs of red tape will be involved. For starters, they won't be reintroduced "wholesale," instead being reserved for "mission essential applications." We're also told that the drives themselves must contain specific security features, and administrators will be able to track the use of 'em from the outset. For those unaware, the ban was originally put into place just over a year ago after virus-laden USB keys disrupted military networks, presumably flashing Blingee'd faces of Kim Jong-il (http://www.engadget.com/tag/kim+jong-il/) onto CIA surveillance screens. Or not, but that'd be pretty hilarious.DoD eases ban on thumb drive use for US military, our enemies rejoice (http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/22/dod-eases-ban-on-thumb-drive-use-for-us-military-our-enemies-re/) originally appeared on Engadget (http://www.engadget.com) on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).


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