State Department ‘Finds’ Missing Laptops

Remember those 400 missing laptops at the State Department? They’ve been “found.” Or, more accurately, they were never really missing.

CQ‘s Jeff Stein, who reported the original story, has the follow-up:

A senior official in the department’s Office of the Inspector General, speaking only on a not-for-attribution basis, acknowledged that managers in the Diplomatic Security service had lost track of the computers, which are destined for friendly foreign police services. But he said that they were located “within 24 hours” after CQ reported them missing over the weekend.

“We didn’t start looking until Monday morning, and found that this may have been an internal management count (problem),” the official said. “By the end of the afternoon they found out they were in Springfield or Herndon or wherever they’re stored before they go overseas.”

Pretty much as expected.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. “We didn’t start looking until Monday morning, and found that this may have been an internal management count (problem),” the official said. “By the end of the afternoon they found out they were in Springfield or Herndon or wherever they’re stored before they go overseas.”

    Must have been serious if they started looking first thing Monday morning. Then again, this “senior official” doesn’t inspire confidence with his “maybe they’re here, maybe they’re there, whatever,” knowledge of his organization’s critical assets.