Stolen UK govt. laptop

[nihil]

OK folks, nothing too surprising here...............or is there.

Basically a stolen Home Office (UK govt.) computer was taken into a repair shop:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology...d=networkfront

The "owner" claimed to have bought it on e-bay.

When the engineer opened it up they found an encrypted CD under the keyboard. OK the disk was encrypted.

Now, the thing that strikes me is that the only way you get a CD under the keyboard of a laptop is by opening the thing up and putting it there.

That tells me that there is an employee in that government department who has taken confidential data and smuggled it out.

This one could get very interesting

[fourdc]

Depending on the model, getting a cd to fit under the keyboard would be interesting. On some models getting the keyboard off in one piece and back on is not a layman's job.

It would be a lot easier to podsnarf or even copying to a thumb drive than pulling a keyboard apart.

[nihil]

It would be a lot easier to podsnarf or even copying to a thumb drive than pulling a keyboard apart.

Yes, but the chance of detection would be much greater if you were searched. Also the device might be detected once connected to the network?

On some models getting the keyboard off in one piece and back on is not a layman's job.

Which means that security personnel are unlikely to do it?

I don't know if it is significant, but our equivalent of Homeland Security comes under our "Home Office" (MI5, Special Branch etc.)

I have only encountered espionage a couple of times whilst working in the armaments sector. Both guys got 11 years each. Someone obviously thought it was worth the risk?

[ArPaNET]

I wonder is "the guardian" a popular news outlet over in the UK? I am starting to see more and more of them over here in the states, they were even in a recent movie dealing with this sorta stuff; The Bourne Ultimatum...

The person who bought the laptop, the person who sold the laptop, and the person who worked on the laptop better not have even the smallest crime on their records... Background checked, interrogated, most likely held!

good ol' ebay! For a period of time, there were even drug sales going on with ebay as the middle man...

[nihil]

That would depend on your definition of "popular".

The most sold and read newspapers are the tabloids: "The Sun" and the "Daily Mirror".

Our "quality" newspapers are "The Times", "The Guardian", "The Daily Telegraph", and "The Independent"

There is also "The Financial Times" which is a specialist newspaper akin to "The Wall Street Journal"

[ArPaNET]

Well they seem to be well written articles, too bad we will never know who, what, or why...