Adobe’s solar-charger gifts ignite Navy investigation

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WASHINGTON — Someone in Adobe Systems Inc.’s marketing department thought it would be a good idea to send Pentagon personnel solar chargers for their mobile phones. The result was a criminal investigation by the Navy.

The Navy Criminal Investigative Service is looking into the unsolicited mailing last month of the devices by Adobe, the largest maker of graphic-design programs, to about 100 defense workers as gifts, according to an Army memo labeled “For Official Use Only.”

“Initial contact with Adobe failed to identify association with the mailings; however, subsequent contact revealed these packages were sent by marketing personnel within Adobe,” Joe Ethridge, chief of the Army’s Criminal Intelligence Division, said in the Feb. 4 memo informing its personnel of the incident.

The inquiry reflects increased sensitivity in the military toward the threat of malware that might be hidden on devices, as the government attempts to improve its defenses against cyberattacks and intrusions.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper listed potential cyberattacks as his top concern in a January assessment of worldwide threats facing the United States.

“At this time, there are no observed indications these devices contain any malware or there is anything malicious regarding” them, according to the Army memo. Even so, it advised personnel: “Do not use the content of the Adobe package or connect it to your BlackBerry; do not connect it to any government-owned IT equipment; and do not employ it on any personally owned IT equipment.”

It also said not to “accept gifts from prohibited sources, to include contractors seeking to do business with the U.S. government.”

Colleen Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for Adobe in San Jose, Calif., said in an email that the devices were distributed as part of a marketing effort before the company’s fifth annual Adobe Digital Government Assembly in a hotel near the Pentagon last month.

The technology conference was billed on its website as a chance for more than 500 “senior level government and industry IT leaders” to “hear from technology leaders, senior agency officials and industry pioneers.”

“Adobe confirmed the authenticity of the packages,” Rodriguez said.

“Our understanding is that the NCIS investigation determined the packages were legitimate and contained no threats to IT security.”

(Read More: Fully Charge Your iPhone With The Sun in 2 Hours or Less)