US troopers stationed in Europe could have unintentionally uncovered details about the United States’ nuclear weapons stockpile once they used flashcard apps to assist them bear in mind particulars in regards to the info, based on a report from open-source intelligence outlet Bellingcat.

Foeke Postma, a researcher with Bellingcat, wrote that the troopers used research apps corresponding to Chegg, Cram, and Quizlet to create flashcards the place they saved details about bases in Europe the place US nuclear weapons have been probably positioned, secret codes, passwords, and different particulars about safety. It seems that they forgot to set the settings for the apps to “private,” in order that their usernames and pictures have been public-facing, and since among the troopers used the identical pictures as that they had on their LinkedIn profiles it will not have been troublesome to attach them to the nuclear info, based on Postma.

Why the troopers used unsecured research apps to recollect the knowledge wasn’t clear. Postma contacted officers with the US Department of Defense, NATO, and European Command a number of weeks earlier than publishing his report, and the flashcards with the delicate info have since been taken down (though should be seen on the archival Wayback Machine web site, as Motherboard reported).

The research apps didn’t reply to requests for remark Saturday. An e mail to the Department of Defense asking whether or not the troopers concerned may face any disciplinary motion was not instantly returned Saturday.