Michael Gibbard stumbled upon hundreds of military documents while rushing to a soccer match in Newcastle, England. He initially mistook the papers for trash but was shocked by the sensitive information they contained, such as the names and ranks of soldiers, base patrols, drug test results, and weapon armory codes. This incident has raised concerns about the security measures in place for safeguarding state secrets in the United Kingdom. Unlike the security breach in the United States, where a technological blunder on the encrypted app Signal led to the leakage of sensitive national security information, the potential error in the United Kingdom appears to be more analog. Mr. Gibbard discovered the military documents in a black trash bag, which later turned out to have originated from Catterick Garrison, a major military base in North Yorkshire. He questioned why such documents were printed and not stored securely online. Feeling uneasy about the sensitive information he had discovered, Mr. Gibbard took a single photograph and called the police. However, the authorities seemed skeptical of his story. The incident highlights the need for better handling of military paperwork in both the United Kingdom and the United States,

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/world/europe/military-documents-newcastle.html