In 2008, DOD’s computers in Iraq were infected with malware introduced via a thumb drive.
The order went out: no more removable media.
In 2009-10, Bradley Manning downloaded entire databased onto a Lady Gaga CD.
The order went out: no more removable media.
And now this:
Former National Security Agency contract employee Edward Snowden used a computer thumb drive to smuggle highly classified documents out of an NSA facility in Hawaii, using a portable digital device supposedly barred inside the cyber spying agency, U.S. officials said.
Investigators “know how many documents he downloaded and what server he took them from,” said one official who would not be named while speaking about the ongoing investigation.
Snowden worked as a system administrator, a technical job that gave him wide access to NSA computer networks and presumably a keen understanding of how those networks are monitored for unauthorized downloads.
“Of course, there are always exceptions” to the thumb drive ban, a former NSA official said, particularly for network administrators. “There are people who need to use a thumb drive and they have special permission. But when you use one, people always look at you funny.”
There are always exceptions to the removable media ban, it seems.