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The Military United States

US Soldiers Expose Nuclear Weapons Secrets Via Flashcard Apps (bellingcat.com) 39

Posted by BeauHD from the serious-breach-of-security-protocols dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bellingcat: For US soldiers tasked with the custody of nuclear weapons in Europe, the stakes are high. Security protocols are lengthy, detailed and need to be known by heart. To simplify this process, some service members have been using publicly visible flashcard learning apps -- inadvertently revealing a multitude of sensitive security protocols about US nuclear weapons and the bases at which they are stored. While the presence of US nuclear weapons in Europe has long been detailed by various leaked documents, photos and statements by retired officials, their specific locations are officially still a secret with governments neither confirming nor denying their presence. As many campaigners and parliamentarians in some European nations see it, this ambiguity has often hampered open and democratic debate about the rights and wrongs of hosting nuclear weapons.

However, the flashcards studied by soldiers tasked with guarding these devices reveal not just the bases, but even identify the exact shelters with "hot" vaults that likely contain nuclear weapons. They also detail intricate security details and protocols such as the positions of cameras, the frequency of patrols around the vaults, secret duress words that signal when a guard is being threatened and the unique identifiers that a restricted area badge needs to have. Like their analogue namesakes, flashcard learning apps are popular digital learning tools that show questions on one side and answers on the other. By simply searching online for terms publicly known to be associated with nuclear weapons, Bellingcat was able to discover cards used by military personnel serving at all six European military bases reported to store nuclear devices. Experts approached by Bellingcat said that these findings represented serious breaches of security protocols and raised renewed questions about US nuclear weapons deployment in Europe. The report notes that some of the flashcards "had been publicly visible online as far back as 2013," while others "detailed processes that were being learned by users until at least April 2021."

Crucially, all flashcards mentioned in the article "have been taken down from the learning platforms on which they appeared after Bellingcat reached out to NATO and the US Military for comment prior to publication," the report states.
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US Soldiers Expose Nuclear Weapons Secrets Via Flashcard Apps More

US Soldiers Expose Nuclear Weapons Secrets Via Flashcard Apps

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  • Surely you meant... (Score:4, Funny)

    by K. S. Kyosuke ( 729550 ) on Friday May 28, 2021 @08:27PM (#61432858)
    Double-flash-card apps, right?

  • Nuclear Luggage (Score:3)

    by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Friday May 28, 2021 @08:44PM (#61432910)

    Why do I have a feeling the combination to their luggage, is 5...4...3...2...1

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

  • Bodyguard of lies (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 ) on Friday May 28, 2021 @08:44PM (#61432912)

    The truth should be protected with a bodyguard of lies.

    The DoD should periodically intentionally leak fake "nuclear security protocols" so if the real thing ever leaks, Opfor will have no idea if it is real or not.

    • You just shined a ray of hope. Tiny, but thanks.

      • It doesn't actually matter; the soldiers doing this sort of work don't actually know a bunch of real secrets; rather, everything they do is heavily classified by default.

        That does not imply that Russia (the only country who matters in this case) doesn't already know all the low-level information that would be contained in these sorts of materials.

        So if you needed a ray of hope; take a deep breath. Nothing substantial happened. Do not duck and cover. Little Timmy is an old man now.

    • Past (Score:3)

      by DrYak ( 748999 )

      The DoD should periodically intentionally leak fake "nuclear security protocols" so if the real thing ever leaks, Opfor will have no idea if it is real or not.

      Yeah, good idea!
      Maybe they should call these fake procedures Red Mercury [wikipedia.org].

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by 1s44c ( 552956 )

      Exactly. The options are to spend an insane fortune on nuclear weapons, or just leak information that they exist all over the world. The deterrent effect is exactly the same.

  • UFO sightings are made by professional members of the military. Our top men.

  • I find myself curious... (Score:3)

    by CrimsonAvenger ( 580665 ) on Friday May 28, 2021 @08:54PM (#61432928)

    So, how does anyone know that the data that has been "leaked" via these apps is, well, true?

    It's not like there's any way to verify the information other than to raid one of the purported sites and come out with one or more real nuclear weapons....

    • I'm more curious about the how. How would something so simple leak so badly?

      • Re:I find myself curious... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Friday May 28, 2021 @09:55PM (#61433030)

        I'm more curious about the how. How would something so simple leak so badly?

        I read some time ago that troop movements were being leaked at forward bases.

        Drone shots from 100,000+ feet? Spies sent in undercover? Satellite imagery?

        No, not quite. Fitness trackers.

        The overwhelming majority of humans, don't really think about shit like this when they use tech. Not even those who should be more aware.

    • Re:I find myself curious... (Score:5, Funny)

      by sysrammer ( 446839 ) on Friday May 28, 2021 @10:28PM (#61433082) Homepage

      Crucially, all flashcards mentioned in the article "have been taken down from the learning platforms on which they appeared after Bellingcat reached out to NATO and the US Military for comment prior to publication," the report states.

      "There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the flash cards are for and why they are here, they will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable."

  • Gotta catch em all! (Score:3)

    by cdsparrow ( 658739 ) on Friday May 28, 2021 @09:30PM (#61432978)
    Now we need to see how many pokemon were caught in these bunkers specifically. It's gotta be a pretty boring job...

  • Why did the American Empire fall? (Score:3, Funny)

    by puddingebola ( 2036796 ) on Friday May 28, 2021 @09:47PM (#61433006) Journal
    Was it because they all drank from lead goblets? Was it because they couldn't produce economic growth even with the staggering debt they took on? Was it because they did not reinvest in the people, infrastructure and society of their nation sufficiently? Or was it because they invented something called the Internet?
  • Okay, so you have a top secret security clearance. The natural thing to do is use insecure software and integrate your classified knowledge into the "cloud." I think it's more likely that this is disinformation. If not and they're really this incompetent, we're all fucked.

    • US government doesn't attract the best and brighte (Score:4, Interesting)

      by raymorris ( 2726007 ) on Saturday May 29, 2021 @12:25AM (#61433210) Journal

      The US government offers employees:

      A workplace where it's VERY hard to get fired, it's okay to suck at your job.

      Low pay.

      Few opportunities for advancement by doing your job well; seniority (sitting there a long time) is what gets you ahead.

      Little to no accountability.

      The workers attracted to government positions don't tend to be the best and brightest. I've worked with, and hung out with, the government's security experts. They aren't impressive.

      Though, one guy who was ex-MI5 was pretty smart. Of course he GTFO of government service while he was still young. The private sector offered much better pay and less bureaucracy for a talented guy like him.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Hodr ( 219920 )

        Who rated this interesting? While the tests may not be especially difficult, the fact of the matter is that promotion is not based on time and the limited slots are competed for based on meritorious service and test scores.

        And I would argue the pay is not low, unless you completely discount the "benefits" (housing allowance, food, health insurance, retirement, commissary use, etc.). Tell me another company you can work for for 20 years and be able to retire and get free healthcare and 50% of your six fig

      • This definitely is the perspective of a modern conservative that's never worked in or with the military ot government, I'll give ya that.

        • > This definitely is the perspective of a modern conservative that's never worked in or with the military ot government

          That perspective is after I worked for the government. I then left for a private sector job that doubled my take-home pay.

          The hardest part about starting my government job was getting used to all the standing around chit-chatting, doing nothing. It made me anxious because I wasn't used to wasting half the day when you're supposed to be working. I got used to it, though. :)

    • Sadly, so. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by jd ( 1658 ) <imipak@ y a hoo.com> on Saturday May 29, 2021 @03:44AM (#61433432) Homepage Journal

      They really are this stupid. Even those in techncal fields have a nasty habit of doing some really stupid things. Security briefings stating "do not jog o the jet runway", using .rhosts files for sensitive data systems and "our last audit showed over twenty administrators usng password as their password" really and truly do not inspire confidence.

      • The impetuousness of youth. When your avg enlisted is 22yrs old, they make a lot of bonehead mistakes. The bast majority serve just 1 4yr term. Some even did 2yr terms when I was enlisted. If you enlist after high school you will be 22 when your term is up. Most 22yr olds do some pretty dumb shit, even in college (like carrying couches from the dorms into the street and setting them on fire when your basketball team wins a tournament. Or throwing mattesses over the balcony and jumping from the 3rd story hop
        • I guess it depends on how you were raised. I didn't know many in the people around me who would set their furniture on fire. Mind you not everyone gets their parents to pay for college and such so that they have no appreciation of the value of money. I wonder how you found your way to a tech forum with so little grasp of physics by the way. I agree they were stupid (and likely had no college education... not the same thing obviously). And they were lazy. And part of it was on their superiors who didn't fol

  • When I was little, I asked my mom what she would do if she bought me an electronic toy that suddenly started spewing out government secrets that were recorded in it.

    She said something along the lines of "I would call the police and turn it over to them".

    In this day and age, I now wonder if turning in such an item would earn you a free waterboard vacation in a secret Club Fed. :-|

    • You're just the idiot Momma raised, though.

      Then: Your family would have been detained on a military base for months, and nobody would have known. If somebody had told the media, they'd have covered it up.
      Now: You'd be politely interviewed, they'd verify where the item came from by electronic records of the purchase, and you'd never hear from them again.

  • My insurance company, which caters to the military, requires cookies in order to access their website. I recently set my ff browser to "Strict" and was unable to use the site. It seems like someone could use that information for other than marketing purposes.

  • Flash-Bang cards?

  • This is not really a surprise. Low morale in the nuclear corps has been a problem for years. Air Force General: 'There Was a Huge Morale Problem' in Nuke Force [military.com] Pentagon officials keeping an eye on morale at nuclear bases [militarytimes.com] Several years ago, the nuclear officer corps at the U.S.A.F. was rocked by a cheating scandal. Air Force Cheating Scandal Widens; 92 Nuclear Officers Linked [npr.org]

    If this dates to 2013, this these leaks may be related to the cheating scandals.

    • Morale and morality are not the same thing, even if they sound the same. It seems more like mentally lazy people with low morality wanted to take the easy way. And yeah, it looks like the same types ignored the rules to something at a similar moral level. Ironically, they probably had high morale for awhile when they thought they got away with cheating the rules on security.

  • Everything leaks (Score:5, Funny)

    by CuriousKangaroo ( 543170 ) on Saturday May 29, 2021 @08:42AM (#61433782)
    This is an excellent example of why people who think the US government has been hiding aliens in Area 51 for 70+ years are clearly very very wrong.
  • The power of human stupidity. Not everyone who works around those weapons are rocket scientists. Most are everyday soldiers and technicians whose jobs range from filling gas tanks to tapping on scopes taking readings. Some of those are most likely the main culprits. But then again, we've all seen (even if we some didn't notice) many of the higher technical level folks who have a high level of smart phone brain death. Excessive use of thumbs. Replace interaction with real life with emojis.

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