<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
State Department offers $25,000 for missing laptop's return
By GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (August 10, 2000 11:17 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - The State Department on Wednesday announced a $25,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of a laptop computer containing highly classified information that has been missing since the beginning of this year.
Spokesman Richard Boucher said the department hopes the award offer will generate leads. The computer disappeared in late January from a sixth floor conference room in the department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research. The FBI and the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security have been investigating.
Boucher said the laptop's disappearance is a "potentially serious breach of security." Other officials have said the computer contained information on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and on technologies for launching such weaponry.
Boucher said the computer is a black Dell with a five-digit serial number ending in the letter "Q" located on a sticker in the back near the ports.
Officials have not been sure whether the laptop was stolen or misplaced or, if it was stolen, whether it was taken for the information it contained or merely for the value of the computer.
Boucher was asked whether the announcement of a reward was not a tip-off to those who have the computer that it contains classified information.
"If people with nefarious goals took it, they probably know what they've got already," he said. "If people thought they were just swiping a laptop or pawning it or fencing it, it doesn't really matter to them what's on it."
In the latter case, the offer of a reward might encourage them to turn it in, he said.
The laptop's disappearance is one of several security lapses that prompted a comprehensive review of State Department security procedures.
Last December, the State Department expelled a Russian diplomat, Stanislav Borisovich Gusev, who was caught gathering information from the department with an eavesdropping device.
Also in December, an internal State Department audit found that the department let visitors, contractors and maintenance workers roam its building unescorted.
Anyone with information about the laptop is encouraged to contact the State Department at 202-647-7277.
[/quote]
The story can be found HERE.
Comon'! Maybe I should put those laptops up on Ebay. They're worth at least $25k!
------------------
God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!
State Department offers $25,000 for missing laptop's return
By GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (August 10, 2000 11:17 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - The State Department on Wednesday announced a $25,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of a laptop computer containing highly classified information that has been missing since the beginning of this year.
Spokesman Richard Boucher said the department hopes the award offer will generate leads. The computer disappeared in late January from a sixth floor conference room in the department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research. The FBI and the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security have been investigating.
Boucher said the laptop's disappearance is a "potentially serious breach of security." Other officials have said the computer contained information on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and on technologies for launching such weaponry.
Boucher said the computer is a black Dell with a five-digit serial number ending in the letter "Q" located on a sticker in the back near the ports.
Officials have not been sure whether the laptop was stolen or misplaced or, if it was stolen, whether it was taken for the information it contained or merely for the value of the computer.
Boucher was asked whether the announcement of a reward was not a tip-off to those who have the computer that it contains classified information.
"If people with nefarious goals took it, they probably know what they've got already," he said. "If people thought they were just swiping a laptop or pawning it or fencing it, it doesn't really matter to them what's on it."
In the latter case, the offer of a reward might encourage them to turn it in, he said.
The laptop's disappearance is one of several security lapses that prompted a comprehensive review of State Department security procedures.
Last December, the State Department expelled a Russian diplomat, Stanislav Borisovich Gusev, who was caught gathering information from the department with an eavesdropping device.
Also in December, an internal State Department audit found that the department let visitors, contractors and maintenance workers roam its building unescorted.
Anyone with information about the laptop is encouraged to contact the State Department at 202-647-7277.
[/quote]
The story can be found HERE.
Comon'! Maybe I should put those laptops up on Ebay. They're worth at least $25k!
------------------
God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!