A 28-year-old delivery man from the UK who bought a Nikon Coolpix camera for about $31 on eBay got more than he bargained for when the camera arrived with top secret information from the UK’s MI6 organization.
Allegedly sold by one of the clandestine organization’s agents, the camera contained named al-Qaeda cells, names, images of suspected terrorists and weapons, fingerprint information, and log-in details for the Secret Service’s computer network, containing a “Top Secret” marking.
Once he downloaded the contents onto his computer, he immediately went to the police to explain the situation. The police originally treated it as a joke, but within a week, anti-terror officers started investigating and demanded that he not talk to the media about the contents contained in the camera.
Journalist and author Neil Doyle told The Sun that the contents are “MI6 documents relating to an operation against al-Qaeda insurgents in Iraq. It’s jaw-dropping they got into the public domain.
“Not only do they divulge secrets about operations, operating systems and previously unheard-of MI6 departments, but they could put lives at risk.”
MI6 is currently trying to track down the agent who made the mistake. If caught, the agent could face serious legal ramifications and face suspension. (Here is CrunchGear’s take).
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how much did it go for?
RTFA it states $31
You RTFA the guy bought it for $31 it doesn’t say what he sold it for. DA.
It was bought by eBay user “ihateaustinpowers” for one… MILLION… dollars.
I just read this on google news, that would be pretty cool to see when you turn the camera on. Most people would clear out the memory card before they sell it you would think.
I wonder how many people have bought cameras on eBay and found interesting pictures.
I am sure that there have been quite a few times when intimate pictures have been found by strangers.
You’d think… but then I’ve bought laptops where the previous owner “reinstalled” windows first, which just created a new profile. His included an amazing document called “creditcard.txt” which he must have been using to copy and paste his cc number, etc. from while shopping (I assume it was his).
Until then, I thought crap like this only happened in the movies.
Darn!
James Bond sold me his secret micro-watch camera last month.
No super secret information in it’s memory banks.
It was full of pictures of naked women.
“M” was wearing a fluffy pink thong.
Even “Q” was there, wearing a rinestone leather g-string.
By the way - Isn’t this a WEB 2.0 news blog?
Why are we talking about used cameras, and spy documents here?
My guess is that Don watched too much Austin Powers last night…
Because its interesting
haha, good comment Tostada-man…
Regarding the passwords, I would be VERY surprised if the MI6 used a simple password authentication system for its computers. The user probably needs an electronic smart card where a new password is generated for him at each access. Or they might use biometrics. This sounds more like an eBay promotion.
Sounds like a poor but apparently successful PR job for NIKON….
Duh! Where’s the flickr stream? C’mon, tell me these pics weren’t uploaded somewhere.
Was it a dutch auction?
So much for not “leaking it” to the press!
That reminds me of this guy who buys old cameras at yard sales and thrift stores and develops the film inside.
Oops. Link not working in FF. Try http://www.mangofalls.com/index.php?x=browse
Please give me my camera back….
It was just lying there…
And I thought the Coen Brothers’ movie “Burn After Reading” was funny!
Just imagine for a moment the “Taliban” is a myth fabricated to incite fear.
In what clever ways would you support and prolong that myth? This could be one of them.
Question everything.
That’s a pretty convincing myth, given that the Taliban ruled an entire Central Asian country for years, imposed one of the most oppressive theocratic regimes in living memory, retains control over large areas of the country even today and has killed many coalition soldiers in guerilla warfare. Quite good for something that doesn’t exist.
I think you mean Al-Qaeda rather than the Taliban.
This couldn’t possibly be a trailhead for a viral ARG tied to a new movie about one MI6 gentleman that has a thing for vodka martinis, fast cars and fast women could it?
The bigger question that I have is what does it cost to get a blog this large to publish an advertisement such as this (without disclosure)?
I think this story is kind of awesome. I wish they had posted everything they found online.
wow, james bond kinda story, only bond wouldn’t lose the camera.
http://gatesandjobs.blogspot.com/
The newspaper quoted is the British equivilent of The National Enquirer.
They routinely make shit up and print it.
Very small chance this is real.
Is this TechCrunch..or F*cken PageViewCrunch… you’ll just post just about any sort of crap these days..
I guess you guys have no choice. With the upcoming economic crisis, the start up scene won’t have much to offer.
Pretty soon your dead pool will be getting more visits than the main site..
Techcruch = Tabloid 2.0 !
oops Typo !
Techcrunch = Tabloid 2.0 !
ha, “Techcruch” is a better name to go along with this story. welcome to the nuclear winter.
Well it’s too good to believe.. So I’ll pass by for now… and quite disappointing to see this on TechCrunch
CamCrunch with sensored pic on in, It’s good to be true.
These are times of crisis and probably Mi6 needed some cash, at the time it probably made sense to sell their $30 terrorist surveillance camera.
the thing that amazes me about this type of thing is that people actually report it, knowing full well that they will be treated as a terrorist and probably charged with some anti-terror law thats less than 10 years old.
Same goes for people who find money or wallets. If you find it, you own it. Yes, you would be upset if you lost your wallet or secret information, but this time it’s your turn for some good luck. Keep it and keep your mouth shut.