GlobalPost: U.S. military laptops with sensitive infromation being sold in Pakistan

Boston-based GlobalPost reports that U.S. military laptops are turning up in markets in Pakistan, containing sensitive material on the drives. GlobalPost correspondent Shahn Mufti reports that he was able to purchase a U.S. military laptop that contained restricted U.S. military information, as well as software for military platforms, the identities of numerous military personnel, and information about weaknesses and flaws in American military vehicles being employed in the war in Afghanistan.

The reporter claims to have purchased for $650 a laptop belonging to a soldier in the 864th battalion of engineers in the U.S. Army. “The stolen laptop computer contains dozens of manuals on how to operate, construct, and assemble U.S. Army equipment,” says the source. “The machine has software that allows an operator to access U.S. military construction, repair, and maintenance databases with a password.”

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Mufti covers Pakistan for GlobalPost, and has been a correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor in Pakistan since 2007. His work also has appeared in the Boston Sunday Globe, The Nation, Columbia Journalism Review, and other publications.