One of the Weirdest Things I've Ever Read...

Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:

No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.

If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

**LordofHats**

The Department of the Navy is looking very closely at used video game consoles. Only, they don't want to play them. They want to crack them open and steal all the information on overseas users they can get their hands on.

To that end, the Department has contracted a company called Obscure Technologies to go overseas, buy a mountain of pre-owned video game consoles and obtain as much "significant and sensitive information from previous users" as it's possible to get.

Why overseas? Because of the nature of the work, they're not allowed to target any "US persons".

Obscure will be given just under USD$200,000 to undertake the work, mostly aimed at developing tools for getting the data and determining just how feasible such a process is. Attempts will then be made to gather the information both from the storage of the console itself, as well as "analyzing network traffic".

The company was awarded the contract because "its lead scientist [has] previously reverse engineered the Microsoft XBOX".

To recap, in case you haven't really caught the gist of this yet, if you live outside the USA and have ever traded in a current-gen video game console, you're now at risk - a remote risk, but a risk nonetheless - of having your "significant and sensitive information" obtained by the US military.

Perhaps most interesting/terrifying is that, at the conclusion of the research, some of the software developed for extracting this data will be released as open source and made "freely available". Kotaku

I don't understand... And by don't understand, I mean wtf? And by wtf I mean:

Okay, that's an exaggeration. But I find this completely baffling.

**Bromsy**

Bet China has been doing the same thing for longer.

**Ma55ter_fett**

Considering how bent out of shape sony gets whenever you so much as open up the case...

Lawsuit maybe?

**Sasori**

Ma55ter_fett wrote:Considering how bent out of shape sony gets whenever you so much as open up the case...

Lawsuit maybe?

Yeah, Good luck with that.

**Locclo**

Sasori wrote:
Ma55ter_fett wrote:Considering how bent out of shape sony gets whenever you so much as open up the case...

Lawsuit maybe?

Yeah, Good luck with that.

Sony sues the Navy. The Navy sends several warships to Sony's corporate offices. The lawsuit is dropped.

**LordofHats**

Gunboat diplomacy at its best

**Brother-Captain Scotti**

Wow extreme, very glad I haven't traded in either of my xbox's!

Would have thought that there would be some policy against them being able to do this especially here in the UK, can't see the government going 'oh yeh, well why not have a database of sensitive info that can put our peoples details at risk and maybe even get robbed blind if they are compromised.......', still it is the UK and Cameron is trying to privatise the NHS the idiot

**PapaPiggy**

What will the military really do with my Ps3? i mean really? are they going to check the web browser? do they really need to see what i use that thing for other than gaming? That would be a sad day.

"The us military has received information stating that if an internet connection is in use, and has a web browser, Then men and boys are using it to look at naked women."

That would be a great day. Being worried about crap like this isn't really needed. The military doesn't care if you play violent games. Its the left wing nut jobs who do. The military wants the second gen killers. and being good at battle field might get you entered into the running.

And if you are worried about a SSI number. ITS THE MILITARY, they have all that information any ways. This is just a really neat joke that doesn't have a future. Or maybe a high ranking general stole the money, and now they have to make sure they say they spent it? Can any one say high level cover up? Now all we have to do is find the evidence, namely the dead hooker.

**LordofHats**

I'm more baffled by why they would waste money on this actually

The only thing I can think of is using the console to break into a network, but you can do the same thing with a PC and well... I don't think Osama was playing XBox...

**Morathi's Darkest Sin**

Maybe its a cover for morale, going to retro fit a console in every US facility coffee lounge across the States and its outposts around the world?

**SagesStone**

The Department of the Navy is looking very closely at used video game consoles. Only, they don't want to play them. They want to crack them open and steal all the information on overseas users they can get their hands on.

To that end, the Department has contracted a company called Electronic Arts, to create games for video game consoles and obtain as much "significant and sensitive information from previous users" as it's possible to get.

I like my version better.