After the Biden administration's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, abandoned US military equipment which contain biometric data have been popping up on Ebay, including SEEK II (Secure Electronic Enrollment Kit) on the popular auction website, according to the New York Times (NY Times).
The device, built as part of the Pentagon’s vast biometric collection expansion following the Sept. 11, 2011 attacks, has a tiny screen, a little keyboard, and a mouse pad
- It also contains a thumbprint reader under a hinged plastic lid, an iris scanner and a camera.
- The shoebox-shaped device, designed to capture fingerprints and perform iris scans, was listed on eBay for $149.95
- A German security researcher, Matthias Marx, successfully offered $68, and when it arrived at his home in Hamburg in August, the rugged, hand-held machine contained more than what was promised in the listing
- Most people in the database, which was reviewed by The New York Times, were from Afghanistan and Iraq
The Devices
- Of the six devices the researchers bought on eBay, four were SEEKs and two HIIDEs, for Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment
- Two of the SEEK II devices had sensitive data on them
- One was found to contain the fingerprints and iris scans of a small group of U.S. service members
The issue with the devices
- According to the Defense Logistics Agency, which is tasked with equipment disposal, the SEEK II and HIIDE devices never should have made it to the open market.
- Gear such as this is supposed to be destroyed on-site when no longer needed by the military.
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