The US Soldiers Leaking Nuclear Secrets | Investigators
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- Опубликовано: 27 апр 2024
- US nuclear weapons are stored across Europe but their presence is neither confirmed nor denied, so Foeke Postma from Bellingcat went looking for them.
Along with Editor Maxim Edwards, they discovered that US soldiers had been leaking highly confidential locations of these nuclear weapons via flashcard apps, for years and years as well as hundreds of other secrets that were not meant to be in the public domain at all.
It has been described as “one of the most monumental security breaches” in recent years. And all of it was online and available at the click of a button.
This is the story of this unique investigation, conducted entirely through open source techniques, harnessing the power of google searching and social media stalking to expose a massive failure of the US military.
“US Soldiers Expose Nuclear Weapons Secrets Via Flashcard Apps” by Foeke Postma for Bellingcat is available to read here;
www.bellingcat.com/news/2021/...
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The Star of Netflix’s Cheer Sexual Abuse Scandal
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My favorite case of classified info being shared, is when a soldier with access to classified information gets into an argument on a video games forums, because the game developers got details wrong on a tank.
War thunder lol
Most certainly war thunder 😂
This has happened like 4 times now. Just happened again recently with the F15
i swear i heard both chinese and uk soldiers published classified info to prove their point
@@abcdeeer Chinese soldier did with classified specifications of an APFSDS shell and UK with Challenger 2
This is why people in cybersecurity are always grumpy.
What gets me is he did research we all could do. The internet was wild a few years ago. I mean, people didn't know what "five eyes" was a few years ago then bam, everybody knew.
I once discovered a Canadian spy who i believe helped China in developing their facial recognition software for foreigners. Maybe tinfoil hat maybe not. It was all out there.
Infosec guys at my place frown a lot lol always some user just blatantly messing up the easiest of policy
Yeah because you realize the biggest barrier to doing your job is the stupidity of the humans you're trying to protect.
@@ZentaBon yup. As a network tech I see even some of our own techs leaving crash carts open and just doing everything most us won’t do with company equipment
@@Kin3tix lol and some people will INSIST they never clicked on the phishing email even though they very clearly clicked on the phishing email.
The fact that they used the same tools I use to pass my college exams to discover classified information is absolutely wild
Will now that they're putting all of our information on like a social credit system just like they have done in China any decent hacker can get ahold of all these classified documents and everything like that because it's just everywhere
💯
you would be suprised how many of us use quizlet for our advancement boards LOL
I don't think any if this is classified information. Probably should not have been uploaded though.
WOW SIR VERY DANGEROUS 😠😠I WILL NEVER GO TO USA!! 😠BUT THIS IS WHY IM SO LUCKY LIVE IN SUPER INDIA 🤗🇮🇳 THE CLEANEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD , WE NEVER DO SCAM AND WE GIVE RESPECT TO ALL WOMEN THEY CAN WALK SAFELY ALONE AT NIGHT AND WE HAVE CLEAN FOOD AND TOILET EVERYWHERE 🇮🇳🤗🚽, I KNOW MANY POOR PEOPLE JEALOUS WITH SUPER RICH INDIA 🤗🇮🇳🤗🇮🇳🤗🇮🇳🤗
I like how they say “Nobody has to know that, its top secret”.
And then Vice just show it to us
best believe the military scrubbed this
@@Vaioplayer88 what do you mean?
These guys are highly intelligent people that forget that this is just a sham. Who talks about our secret information on RUclips and show's it to everyone. 🤔😳😵💫👍😎
@@user-iw6vf4vl7n It means all the information that was leaked has now been changed. Once classified or top secret information has been released to the public they can no longer be classified as such.
@@Vaioplayer88 - Hooyah!
This reminds me of how years ago location's of secret bases in the Middle East were exposed because soldiers were using fit bit and other exercise apps when they ran. They didn't turn locations off and some even shared the maps
Yeah I remember happened in the US too when they went for a secret training excercise and their Fitbit data showed a large garhering
Oh yeah because we have mint been in the Middle East for more then over 20 years 😂
A secret base was found one time using the users of 4chan and a russian contact that wanted to see if they might be interested in playing investigators. They managed to use footage from training propaganda, and a few other things to figure it out. They fed the contact info as they discovered it until the contact claims he called for a strike, and confirmed using news reports that they were correct within hours of saying he'd make the call. It could be bullshit but the results were immediate and substantiated lol.
@@thefumexxl it was Syrian terrorists who got their base exposed. Pretty wild stuff. Weaponized autism for real.
People keep bitching that Tik Tok is the greatest threat to our national security since 9/11 yet always give blank stares when asked about Fitbit leaking military base locations
Imagine trying to study biology for your highschool exam and randomly you encounter nuclear secrets.
Edit: What in the hell did Joe say?
Edit 2: Thanks Moe and Justice for the good wishes but I passed my biology exam about 4 years ago. Thanks tho.
@@Joe-sg9ll 👈 “Joined Mar 25, 2022”
@@Joe-sg9ll I really wish I could be sometimes.
🤦🏿♂️🤦🏿♂️😮... & next year China will have poorly-built clones, courtesy of sloppy leaked nuke secrets. 😡
@@Joe-sg9llcould you please stop talking about my gf. Cause that is clearly a perfect description of her
I hate when that happens!!
Not the 1st time this has happened. During my research for a class in my pre med school I found sensitive material that belong to the GOV but was exposed online to the public. Sometimes people don’t realized what they upload that can be high classified material, Sometimes you don’t need Edward to find some of this stuff.
WOW SIR VERY DANGEROUS 😠😠I WILL NEVER GO TO USA!! 😠BUT THIS IS WHY IM SO LUCKY LIVE IN SUPER INDIA 🤗🇮🇳 THE CLEANEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD , WE NEVER DO SCAM AND WE GIVE RESPECT TO ALL WOMEN THEY CAN WALK SAFELY ALONE AT NIGHT AND WE HAVE CLEAN FOOD AND TOILET EVERYWHERE 🇮🇳🤗🚽, I KNOW MANY POOR PEOPLE JEALOUS WITH SUPER RICH INDIA 🤗🇮🇳🤗🇮🇳🤗🇮🇳🤗
Edward is a fool for many reasons.
@@indiasuperclean6969 huh? India? Where there's an epidemic of women rapes?
Who you're trying to fool?
One of my favorite was when one of Australian parliament lady posted pictures inside some kind of special forces ops room office during a special visit and she posted multiple photo exposing lots of docs and ACTIVE FORCES in multiple region across the globe, one of the interesting photo was the amount of British SAS active operation being scattered all over Africa.
Second was when Australian Defense website leaked photos of their training with the Japan "Self" Defense Forces, that one sparked a small "dialogue" among the army otaku community, in some part due the unexpected "Gucci" gear they were using that could easily buy a small house per special force operator.
Do you have any links? These seem really interesting to learn more about
@kartikyaboi9881 sorry, posting links might flag my comments as spam thus can't be viewed later on, but googling "australian leaks "active outposts" in africa and "JSDF" training" might lead to the news article about it, also using " " will force google to search the exact words throughout the articles.
SMH it's baffling how it seems like there are no strict rules or procedures people are supposed to follow in those types of settings even though the average person me would believe that's a no-brainer.
As a previous US millitary member of (undisclosed) i can confirm to this. It's tests training sets ...ect and 9 times out of 10 it isn't secret the flashcards are public some people even create the cards for new members of the command to earn there warfare pins there training pins...ect sites such as quizlet...ect are very commonly used.
The problem comes when most individuals aren't security minded. You can try to teach opsec all you want but unless you abc it 9 times out of 10 most US service members won't recognize the security issue.
OPSEC seems like one of those things where, " If you have to ask - you probably shouldn't "
you could have a squad with great opsec, but one person is all it takes to compromise the whole thing. This is how viruses like stuxnet are able to jump air gapped networks.
Don't you think this is a serious security problem that needs to be addressed and corrected?
One of the most dangerous elements to an IT infrastructure is the end user themselves.
Exactly! Well said
Thanks VICE, for drawing attention to such massive problems!
This is nothing.
During decades of dismantling and supervising the nuclear program according with the non proliferation agreement between USA and Russia, those european bases were visited by russians and russian bases visited by americans.
Don't worry, with or without that photo with those guys next to a small rocket, all the parts are aware about the capability of their enemies.
Nothing sensational in here.
Is this sarcasm or no.....
Security in Belgium is fairly light. I know as I was on those bases! Curious few Security Forces (formerly Security Police/Military Police).
Dude this video lacks proof massively. There could be anything written in these cards. It is hilarious bullshit.
These journalists are from Bellingcat. Thats a CIA cut out, NAFO. Just spend 10 minutes looking them up. Believe nothing that comes from them.
One of the hardest things is to find whether the information is credible. Very interesting investigative journalism here.
good vice on uploading this video so more people can learn about this and find this information. bravo
Imagine the same soldiers reactions when they found out what they did
This is nothing.
During decades of dismantling and supervising the nuclear program according with the non proliferation agreement between USA and Russia, those european bases were visited by russians and russian bases visited by americans.
Don't worry, with or without that photo with those guys next to a small rocket, all the parts are aware about the capability of their enemies.
Nothing sensational in here.
Security in Belgium is fairly light. I know as I was on those bases! Curious few Security Forces (formerly Security Police/Military Police).
I would hope they get put on Latrine duty for the next 5 years. Aside from being ejected from the military entirely.
They should get a nice long tour at Fort Leavenworth.
@@FTFC365 Not going to happen I doubt. There was an incident a few years ago where a B-52 crew "forgot" there were nukes on board when they were flying across the USA.............
I saw a video on War Thunder that there were players having arguments over where certain weak spots on tanks were, how thick armor plating was, what type of shells used etc and people to win the argument would actually reveal classified information about tanks in modern day use. It's actually happened on more than one case, kinda insane to think about how them winning an argument could jeopardize national security.
you know everyone knew those weapons where in europe, ronald reagan bragged about having nukes in european countries, and this was in the 1980s anyone with a spy satellite or plane could easily see the hardened hangers and know right away what there for, if you dont think russia knew 25 years ago that those weapons where there you would be mistaken plus thats not are real nuke force anyhow, the real stuff is in are 14 boomer subs just a couple of them is enough to wipe russia off the planet remember that, and russia has no idea where they are but we know where theres are thats why there always deployed in the arctic regions because they are loud and we can track them
@@redred222 Interesting information, always thought we might have more underwater bases and the likes than we are led to believe. Russia is probably trying to find the locations of those subs and where they are being refueled / re-supplied.
It's happened multiple times,
people apparently can't help giving classified deets to Gaijin.
Just happened again like a week ago for the weapons systems of the F-15 and F-16
It's a bunch of 40 year Olds living at their moms house
Nice work Bellingcat! One hopes crucial info had been changed
The first thing you should do is make that public so everyone can see it and repeat "not meant to be public "
Great job 👏 👍 👌
I'm prior service, Army, and I can't understand how dumb and irresponsible these service members were. Their command is just as stupid and irresponsible to let this happen right under their noses.
They’re too busy trying to make them feel safe. Priorities
Ex Navy here.
Mind = blown people are being this sloppy. Everyone top to bottom needs to go.
No kidding, leadership spending their time worrying about grooming standards and if they can eat off the barracks floor or not than ensuring opsec is maintained.
National Guardsman here and I'm just like WTF watching this whole video.
Maybe, it was on purpose.
Sort of like a magic trick.
This story reminds me of US army personnel accidentally leaking the location of military bases when using work-out tracking apps. The US military should really start schooling their employees on mobile phone usage..
They do, but some dont really think much of it.
It’s taught a lot but when they recruit from the bottom barrel of society, there’s only so much you can do
They already do
@@Chr1sBrown That's not a objective judgement.
I understand that in this day and information age, there is so many avenues for leaks and it is almost normalized to publish your activities and affiliations. So you have all these fragments of information out there that subvert any secrecy we have when they can be pieced together.
Pretty sure it was like cia but yeah it was some intelligence base deep in Australia.
as someone who works in this line of work, this is embarrassing
I think your guys investigation just gave more detail to the public lol kinda counter productive
If a soldier has Instagram, FaceBook, Twitter or any social media ....they already shared their location.
vpn
Much different than leaking extremely sensitive info on nuclear weapons
Door dash too
In fact some browsers can rewrite permissions to avoid them knowing, and even apps can be rewritten to avoid their locations and some info being stolen by that sites
@@ADIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Won't help. Information from your phone's GPS sensors are embedded onto every photo you take (location metadata). IIRC Instagram and some other apps remove that information, but some other websites don't, and some apps record your location before removing it from the image.
Also, a skilled analyst can find where your photo was taken with just the background.
As an ex network security tech, ninety-nine times out of a hundred a security breach is not because someone was clever at breaking in, but because those who were broken in to were incredibly lax, negligent even, in maintaining even a simple level of security. Incompetence, ambivalence, apathy, financial prioritization, and good old fashioned laziness are almost always the real culprits in a security breach. Some of the worst ones I saw were because an alarmingly simple opening was found by accident. In one case the company IT security guy was let go because "he was costing too much", when no one in the company actually had any idea just how much he did to keep their network secure, and in my estimation he was cheap - they were getting a very good deal and they didn't even realise it. Boy did they come to rue that decision.
That something as sensitive and secretive as nuclear weapons has its security undone by a couple of incompetent grunts would seem to be incredibly scandalous, but in security breach situations it's really just the norm, and is nothing new to those who work in that field.
you won't be able to say the name of the company anyway so I won't ask but what work was this company involved in and ho wmuch did it end up costing them to repair the breach
Wow thanks for proving my exact idea 💡 as to why documents or events leak out cuz people are so careless 😂
Totally agree. I keep telling my students - before you try to be smarter than others before you, first try to be LESS DUMB ... this is less risky and usually gets you better results, quicker.
All this coming from an ex security tech. Lol. I just had to say it.
@@uditabhattacharya2824 I work in the same industry, a company hired me and mine to come clean up a data breach involving HIPAA sensitive info, I charged just north of 1.5mil. So unless they were paying their previous IT security folks in golden toilets, it definitely ended up costing them significantly more to clean up the mess.
Are you telling me that they put classified nuclear intel in the form of flashcards on quizlet 💀
This was a good one guys 💯🙏
As an airman I'm not at all surprised lol
LOL
Many mandatory trainings incoming
@@123654789Mike Yep, Special High Intensity Training time.
😆
Retired Air Force. I’m not surprised at all.
It makes me sick seeing troops on TikTok (literally a Chinese portal). There is no regard for OPSEC anymore. It sounds silly, but it started going south when we stopped polishing our boots.
''This is not meant to be public knowledge''
Ait lemme just publish this to the whole world ...
facts lmao
its so goofy lol like kids playing pretend spies w pretend secret information
as if they didnt talk to the defense department first and get vetted anyway
absolute cornballs
@@williamrobinson4265 the US army is filled with transgender cornballs 🤣 military not so sophisticated
When they expose this information, the command responsible for those bases can't pretend everything is a-ok.
🥞
Amazing journalism great videos always by the number real news source “vise news”!
Fun fact: the scientists at Los Alamos during WW2 would sometimes borrow library-stuff in their real name... despite them being there being classified
The absolute horror!!🤣
i found a usb drive with info thrown on the side of the street
As a scientist who works at a DoD research facility, I can confirm that scientists are all big walking security risks. It's in our DNA to share stuff and to do anything to make the research easier. Thus we constantly forget or ignore security protocols.
That said I've never heard of us putting classified stuff on publicly available flashcard websites.
Libraries have always been an old fashion source of intel. Back before the internet , the FBI would check libraries to see who had taken out certain books (In the same way they sometimes subpoena google search records). Its not hard to imagine a soviet or nazi spy breaking into a library at night and stealing a copy of the library records, because one thing you know about academics (including nuclear physicists!) is they always own a library. card. And if a certain notable govt physicist suddenly turns up (Oh say... Professor Oppenheimer) , especially if that library has an up to date physic journal collection, theres a pretty good chance he's working on something sneaky for the military in the nearby area.
@@oscarsierra5029 One of the best security measures is to overwhelm the enemy with fake info. Good intel has to recognized for what it is before it can be useful.
Whoever made those quizletts are sweating bullets lol
Sounds like a painful process!
They definitely aren’t. It’s hilarious that people think this was a big find. I am shocked at how stupid people are in the comments of this video.
@@andrews9719 exactly, though remember many don't know much about intellegance gathering so it's mind blowing stuff.
100% bet Russia knows all this info, hell, even knows when things are moved. Works both ways.
I wouldn’t doubt if they deliberately “leak” information that is actually false to mislead our enemies in the case they do attack, they will think this information was true when really it’s a tactic to mislead them
This aged really well today, with the National Guardsman arrested for leaking the Pentagon document.
Thank you Vice for shining a light on a verifiably terrifying situation.
I served in the Air Force doing that same exact job and this case is really really really bad.
imagine you are studying your high school physics exam and you come acrosd US nuke codes
Or naked photos of ex-president Trump…
Not like you could do anything with them, you don’t have the phone number that the red phone automatically connects to ☎️
@@BigTrees4ever it's still cool to have, what idiots would let this info go public 😂
@@BigTrees4everI think it’s more that they leaked loads of important security details that **certain** parties could exploit to get their hands on a nuclear bomb
That will never happen.
I would imagine these type of internet/app security breaches happen all the time. 🤦♀️
you’re correct
Ask mark ;)
It's becoming obvious that it's no accident.
@@user-yd6gx9sx1e 😃😃😃 SECRET !!what a way to publicise !!
Yea I’m pretty sure an NBA coach revealed his strategy or something in these flashcards
We are incredibly fortunate to have made it this far on this planet. Sadly, I have a bad feeling that our fortune is about to run out. I really hope that it doesn't and everything turns out well.
I do to bro it’s a gut feeling like animals when they sense when something is going to go wrong soon.
@@alvirmusic2389 hahah bro i like your comparison. I mean…I think also is like that.
Just the tip of the iceberg, people don’t understand the depth of just how bad social media is.
This is fucking insane. Major props out to both of these guys.
@DarkSagan, am a reservist for the Air Force. I can tell you those are Air Force uniforms, which a few years ago, got change to new patterns. However, as someone in the military for 14years this is not surprising at all. That type of picture is very common to be taken and posted in a hallway of that squadron building. Also, those type of questions and answers for every section are out there in the internet but they are not supposed to have any classified information. Also, the duress words changed all the time, so the one on the test they found will be useless.
the real question should be is who is really lying about nuclear weapons, Russia or the United States aka nato
@@jocoleman1986 this video proves that lol look at the comments of these people they all follow a specific algorithm they all refuse to bring topics such as this most of the time they will deflect with jokes.
I’m the guy with the square black face
@@matthewheathcock I knew I recognized you.
Unbelievable. How could anyone let this happen?
There better be a big reaction to this within the military RIGHT AWAY
And we all know nothing will be changed
Hello Worried Citizen,
I believe you are thinking in the right direction. The best way to help out is to contact your local representative to take further action.
Now....
*SLAP SLAP
Shut up. Make me a sandwich while you're at it
@@0x_nietoh you must have forgotten what happened to the folks in charge of that b52 that flew over the states with a nuke, huh?
@@0x_nietoh Ha reminds me of that silly Will Smith character, have you considered a career in acting?
Because the US military is more concerned with diversity as inclusion than top secret classified nuclear information
In a video game forum i frequented back in the day there was a Ukrainian guy who after just 1 day had the whole story about flight MH17 together. From the seperatists celebrating when they got the S300, until they downed the plane, with a timeline, geo located pictures and the names of certain seperatists involved. They posted about their "success" all over social media then a couple of hours later everything was gone and no one believed him...
I served in Aviano and every few months we would hear a mini bomb go off like a illegal firework... tells me the airmen were either juvenile dead or detonating something but the point is it was often and it was scary...
These bellingcat guys are incredible.
This is nothing.
During decades of dismantling and supervising the nuclear program according with the non proliferation agreement between USA and Russia, those european bases were visited by russians and russian bases visited by americans.
Don't worry, with or without that photo with those guys next to a small rocket, all the parts are aware about the capability of their enemies.
Nothing sensational in here.
no, that's american soliders who did this are "incredibly" stupid :/
they are literally so mid
Yeah, they are pretty nuclear
@@williamrobinson4265still extraordinary from your dim perspective
Well done. Social media Interesting times we are living in
Social, igh! Sounds communist!
As a veteran before cellphones, thank you for your service.
WOW. It is a miracle that our mishandling of information hasn't already caused a massive problem.
Since when has any government or private institution ever been immune from human stupidity?
That would be about the same time that Humanity itself was.
One thing most civilians don’t know is that leaked information is sometimes intentional as a method of electronic warfare counter intelligence. Also the information is most likely out of date. If this is in fact a security breach they need to change then SOPs for these facilities. I have no experience with Nuclear facilities but have experience in serving.
Does this smell like a security breach or not to you?
@@obtuseangler768 doesn't seem like a security breach. Can be intentional as what op has said.
Maybe but also people are dumb... People in the military aren't usually big thinkers 😂
@@ubermensche60 we’ll never know
@Turtle
I've got experience of nuclear facilities, I've never experienced a direct or intentional mis-information "leak".
Any potential for a "mis-information leak", would be during an induction or initial training process, where applicants might be given... How best to say this?... Plausible but fabricated information, prior to them actually having any direct access to any genuine classified information or areas.
This might be done to see if any of the potentials have a loose tounge. Very small groups might be told different things, and if it spreads it can narrow down any potential future "leaks". Such people might not pass out of class.
At a much higher level, yes it can be intentional disinformation. But such an intentional information release, wouldn't be leaked via lower level staff. To give it plausibility and wider coverage/interest, it'd normally be propigated via a higher level rank.
I don't blame soldiers who accidentally uploaded the flashcards. The companies intentionally trick people online to miss or overlook the option to share it publicly. It should be defaulted to private. They do it to have a large library of flashcards in different topics. Heck they've done it to me multiple times and I'd never knowingly set anything as public let alone classified material.
even the pentagon press secretary at 9:05 winked cause he knew it was the worlds worst kept secret
This was pretty much inevitable considering the US Military's over-reliance on Computer Based Training (CBT's) instead of proper hands-on training like it used to do. If people actually sat down and studied the course material in order to pass, barely any work would get accomplished. The entire culture around CBT's encourage users to mash buttons or use flashcards to get through the courses as fast as possible because while you are doing said training, your unit is down a person and the mission tempo doesn't slow down. It's easy for the DoD to invent a CBT course about a specific new problem, and just throw it to the masses and pretend that the problem was now solved. I would spend 20-30 hours a week mashing out CBT's in order to prepare for a deployment, and I wouldn't get any reprieve, breaks, help with work, and be constantly interrupted because my day job doesn't care that I'm in the middle of training.
No it is not inevitable. Frequent retraining and monitoring can help mitigate the risk. Moreover, the benefits of CBT outweighs the risks. Nothing stops an idiot, writing things down on paper if the computer is taken away.
They already have computers in military?!
My leadership pretty much told me the answers were online to some material. We don’t even really need to learn it anymore
I work in Training for Pharma which supports DoD directly and I can agree that CBTs are being sought out as the easy way out. Less scheduling for everyone to get together in person and if done correctly the CBT can cover a lot of great info. However it's our practice even in my industry that once a process is considered critical or confidential, the training is done in person. You cannot replicate an online training to give the same value as an in person training.
@@ricky8063 Lol yep, been there before.
"Here's the answers to this required training because this thingy doesn't exist anymore and you will never work with or on it." Everyone is real quick to add more training, but gets cold feet at the prospect of removing any.
This is insane. How is this possible?!
This is nothing.
During decades of dismantling and supervising the nuclear program according with the non proliferation agreement between USA and Russia, those european bases were visited by russians and russian bases visited by americans.
Don't worry, with or without that photo with those guys next to a small rocket, all the parts are aware about the capability of their enemies.
Nothing sensational in here.
Humans.
@cual6po44ohs4h2o ...
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...
Yes...
E X A C T L Y...
🇿🇦
🐖
Security in Belgium is fairly light. I know as I was on those bases! Curious few Security Forces (formerly Security Police/Military Police).
“This is not meant to be public knowledge” but yet here i am on youtube, viewing this piece of knowledge
Well thanks for sharing this secretive info with the world
We also had a major problem with fitbits, GI's were using fitbits which downloads their fitness info to the cloud so you can compare your routine to others. Well the enemies were using data from the cloud to pinpoint soldiers locations
Was it confirmed enemies actually used the data, or a speculation?
Most importantly it revealed really Really top secret unknown bases, and also submarine locations
The most intriguing heatmap I thought was what could only be explained as there being a large particle accelerator in Antarctica,
I was a comms guy in Syria a few years ago. We took this threat very seriously. Idk if any adversary ever used that data to commence an attack but it was very much so possible. Also, before my deployment (as well as during and after), I started to receive a lot of friend request from people overseas. We can all imagine why.
Pride before the fall?
In the military, we all used these websites for studying. I never thought about the more sensitive stuff that could be one there from other professions in the military. Insane for sure.
Here I am burning my CDCs because I was told that it's classified. I can search google for the information, but nobody is getting it from me!
They should develop an internal flashcard system. You should not be allowed to write that information down anywhere but in secure software/locations. Even if the cards were not public, what about a databreach at the flashcard site ...
@@sdtok527 schoolhouse curriculum is constantly changing and there is an an interest to have some people fail. Depending on someones MOS/AFSC/SFSC/Rate certain people are not allowed to have roommates so they can study
@@sdtok527 Given the scope of the military and the sheer number of people who need to know sensitive information, this is not feasible. People complain about the security training, but it happens all the time and if people paid better attention, this wouldn't happen as often.
@@josemexicanmexican7602 Exactly because of their size it is quite affordable to create a simple flashcard site. The site maintainer does not provide the information, the students create their own flashcards just like the regular sites. Only thing is, you now know this information stays on US government servers and is properly encrypted.
THANKS FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT AND INFO! God bless you all!
The Kirby man Winked when he said that!!
What an amazing report!
Amazing journalism, straight to the point. No bullshit.
Except for this glaring issue. You could have gone to the B61 wikipedia and found a picture from 2008 of one of them. And that the B61s are part of the NATO weapons sharing program. The US isn't storing bombs in other countries, it maintains them because other countries can't. The US Military uses Minuteman (MIRV), Trident (MIRV), and bombs that don't fit in F22s or F35s, like B61s do.
The connectivity and technology that existed today such as these smartphones, has always put me on edge when it comes to military secrets and what appears to be the ease in which information can accidentally become exposed and also “accidentally” exposed.
It's very concerning but there are very simple steps to mitigate those security compromises.
This is a failure to even mention opsec when training these mugs. It doesn't take a cybersecurity expert to not post your squadron on facebook.
Don't worry. Russia uses unencrypted walkie talkies.
Hacking is 10 times easier then it ever has been
You can’t even enter the room with electronics where the real info is at. No matter who you are
Never knew flashcards can be so dangerous.
Our policy not to confirm or deny - winks. Love it.
Taking pics of the flightline and shelters is NOT AUTHORIZED as it is considered Top Secret.
I would like for you to please cite the classification guide that states that.
@@StrokeMahEgo pretty sure if higher ups or command say it's not authorized then it's not authorized
I remember telling my OIC that the only way we were going to be able to meet any kind of OPSEC or INFOSEC standards are if I got disciplinary authority over the entire battalion, which would obviously never ever happen.
Sir, good evening Major. I'm here to discipline you for poor opsec, hand over your phone please... Sir.
@@qwopiretyu What a world that would be. But for real, whoever posted that picture of the whole unit with what I assume were uncensored faces... so cringe.
@@youtubesucksbutts looks pretty censored to me.
@@StrokeMahEgo censored by the journalists - not the original poster.
@@StrokeMahEgo It's incredibly likely that the journalists are the ones that censored it. I can't imagine a boot too stupid to realize they shouldn't post it on social media being smart enough to cover up the faces.
I love how Kirby says "We cannot confirm or deny the presence of nuclear weapons" then winks 😉
As a former airman who worked in a similar nuclear weapons storage facility, I am familiar with the "bomb" in the picture. It is not a real bomb, and is "inert".
The squadron commander would be incredibly inept or outright foolish to have ordered a real nuclear bomb to be used as a prop for a photo.
Secondly, the storage area security command would've been notified and a detail of armed security airmen must be present anytime the real bombs are outside of their storage containers.
We about to die over a quizlet set smh
😂👌
😂😂😂🫠
When i was in they actually insisted we used apps like quizlet to study….this isnt surprising sadly
Speak for yourself
Could be worst, it could be war thunder players leaking those documents for realism
the picture really made me laugh, almost every brigade in the military has a facebook page with similar pictures going back years.
These folks were at a secret, at least somewhat, facility. They doxxed themselves.
In the age of satellites and missiles you shouldn't give your sensitive locations away. You must be some old boomer thinking its ok to take a picture with the boys.
@@peter564325 I mean you can say that but it not like I’m the one making the Facebook pages half they time they are run by senior leaders in units, and no, I got out in 2019 right as covid was hitting so its pretty recent knowledge
@@grmpEqweer The picture is used everywhere, Spec Ops take photos similar as well in sensitive areas
yeah its relatively inane and common but not professional to put on social
"we never confirm or deny the presence of nukes at the locations we store them at"
wonderful job Foeke Postma, Maxim Edwards
Could be worst, those nuclear secrets could have been leaked on the War Thunder forum as a means of winning an online argument
Lol
When it showed the f16 at the start I honestly thought it was going there for a second
🥱
lmaoooooo classic
lolllll
this is what journalism should be meant for. to keep us aware of where our militaries are coming short.
Fantastic report.
Military need give these people bonuses…they just alerted them of nuclear secrets being given to public and helped them hide there information….
Good stuff, Vice!! And hats off to those gentlemen for the work they're doing.
I remember hearing this while stationed in Italy sometime in 2018 I believe. Not surprising, you can find almost any career fields CDCs on flashcard apps. Or at least you could, not sure how it is now a days after this story broke heavy in the military back then.
Where in Italy?
thanks for risks that you take for our benefit
I continue to enjoy the way Vice brings issues like this one to light while I can't help but wonder why don't we see it mainstream news?
I'm asking myself the same thing.
Even I ain't American, I am terrified with the implications of this gigantic security breach. It's really scary to think that sensitive information about the world's deadliest weapons are just... out there.
Right??
None of this is news, the secret agreement on NATO nuclear weapons sharing has been common knowledge for many years now, including several detailed reports on the locations, numbers and other info regarding US nuclear weapons in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Turkey and Germany to be made available to the host countries in case of all out (nuclear) war.
@@pieterveenders9793 such information being publicly available on quizlet is entirely another thing though hahaha
@@lordsiomai This isn't top secret information. It may be sensitive but I'm sure anyone could have gotten this information digging around online even without the q cards. Countries like Russia and China also have satellites that can directly image the tops of the hangars and have been doing so for decades. If it was top secret the U.S DOD would have told them not to publish it and in this video they said they did not object when asked.
I'm not sure what the point of this video even was. It would be like them making a video showing online q cards that have the numbers of the minutemen 3's located in Montana and saying it was a leak. it's public knowledge.
This video has some strange agenda, I have no idea what that is though.
@@lordsiomai wtf is quizlet
Thank you for sharing with the public!
Are the launch codes stored online aswell??
Vice: no one is supposed to know about this..
Also Vice: *makes this video*
Half this video is them repeating themselves, another 1/3 is them rephrasing themselves about information they repeated and about 12% of it is actual reporting.
Hater 😢
Yeah, I found the repetition annoying as well. I dont mind a little repetition (at the beginning, trying to hook the viewer into watching the rest of the video)... but I think this video overdid it
They try to play it up and make it seem so dramatic.
True
wow mr journalist statistics over here
This man just made everything even more leaked.
they contacted the authorities first so i'm sure everything related has long since been taken down or amended
@@voutolliC22 Oh, my sweet precious child...
@@redslate watsup little one
Must be nice to have that comfy deterrence in your back yard!
As a former soldier I just have to say that "facepalm" isn't enough. Never. Ever. Use. Apps.
"OMG they are standing next to a bomb!" You know if your job is to load bombs onto a plane, you stand next to them, like all day, every day.
A full scope story on this would be awesome
Just not sure: what is the link between those 2021 leaks and today?
My biggest issue with this is that it puts an ally at risk. There is a reason why the United States maintains a warhead delivery triad as part of its nuclear response and that is to have multiple options in the case where one is removed from the table. That said, you shouldn't aim to have one removed because that is stupid.
I am speechless! How is this even possible? Thank you for exposing this problem.
Are you being sarcastic?
Guess you've never worked with the military cause as someone who has...none of this surprises me.
Recruitment standards go down...especially the Brass that run things...
@@williamyoung9401 honestly sometimes the military just provides crap resources so soldiers seek out alternatives. Example why not make an internal flash card website where people can submit flash cards on classified networks and if you have the proper clearance you are given access to help you study.
Protect Bellingcat! I missed this investigation from 21 but good on Vice for sharing this. If Bellingcat is new to you: you gotta find the podcasts about their work. They have their own and there's many interviews, too.
What is Bellingcat in a nutshell?
@@willowmalone9215 investigative journalist group of international researchers that primarily use open source info. Fascinating to me - I learned about them from the podcast. I recommend that as a starting point if you're curious *their first major investigation resulted in finding out specific Russian officers involved with the Buka missile attack on a Singaporean civilian airliner that departed from Netherlands (? belgium? i forget now) . check it out, if you want :)
This happens if you attach location or private information to Quizlet. Keep all of your flash cards private.
I already knew about turning off cellphone is not enough, should remove cellphone battery for secrecy.
Thanks for the reminder on EXIF data on picture taken.
it's shocking how seemingly soldiers don't get enough education about so basic things. like not using your real name, using the same username across sites, not using your Military emails and credentials anywhere else, not uploading photos and checking visibility settings etc. etc.
Thanks vice for sharing to the whole world 🙂
This is the best way to litterally combat it though.
If it wasnt shared t the whole world people wouldnt realize how much of an issue
The people who want this information are going to find it if it can be found. Hopefully the command adapts and effectively combats these massive leaks.
Those digital uniforms are so fucking old though. Makes me question the legitimacy
thanks vice to show the world how find world stoping weapons,real smart of you guys
Greatest move, distract and lead “them” where they want. Best believe anything highly “classified” is unknown to the general public!
my last college experience was flabbergasting like what the hell do the professors get paid for if they are just using the same tests that are posted all over online just googling the chapter and name of the book was enough to get a free answer key
Flubber, great movie!
They are paid to do research, get published, and help the university gain notoriety. They are also often paid a lot less than they could make out "in the field."
Professors get paid for writing research grants and publishing.... everyone knows GAs and GAs carry the actual work of undergraduate educational instruction 🤣
@@katie4408 Its east Kush though, with little effort.
*easy
I'm a active duty service member of the United States Army and I've been stationed in Poland since April of last year as part of the United States NATO bolstering force. I appreciate your video and I personally have taken it upon myself after watching your video to inform my superiors here and back state side. This is absolutely fucking ridiculous and makes me physically sick. Make no mistake there will be repercussions for those that are identified and proven to have allowed truly some of the most highly secret information to the general public.
Thanks for your service man.
😂😂
@@jasonlind5670 Service of what?
Thank you for your service 😊
@@tellmemore8837 You've gotta be a really shitty troll with your comment. I've served in the United States Army for 3 years now coming up on my 4th year in May. If your genuinely confused as to what an and I'm quoting here, "An active duty service member of the United States Army". There is no other way to put it really. Nevertheless thank you for taking the time to reply to my comment. All be it a vague response on your part.
I hope they do something about it instead of just saying they can not confirm or deny.
next thing that happens is that soldiers arent allowed to use online flashcards anymore