"So my friend who used to work at the DOE was getting rid of some stuff and he had this iPod, and it looks like a regular iPod but I took a look inside and does anybody know what the hell this is...?"
It's surprising how frequently restricted computing devices end up in public hands.
Through a relative who worked for a guy who knew a guy and so on, I ended up with the world's most awesome GRiD Compass back in the 80's. It was supposedly formerly used by someone in the Reagan administration, and had big stickers on the bottom listing all the countries where it was never to be used.
I threw it away when I got my first IBM XT. Stupid of me.
Of course, most legitimate indie communities stay away from this, preferring clean-room RE efforts.
"Devkits" (at least in the context used here) are hardware for developing console videogames. Console manufacturers work quite hard to control who gets to develop for their platform and how. The devkits are often quite expensive and you won't (usually) get your hands on one unless you work for a company that has signed a very detailed contract with the console manufacturer.
Obviously, the severity of the problem depends on what gets auctioned. PS4 kits? Probably not much, pretty much everything about the console and its capabilities has been leaked a long time ago. But if some PS5 devkits were to go missing right now it would be a huge deal as the console isn't even out yet.
You know the rest of the story. Apple is entirely familiar with the Osborne Effect.
He was not fired for it, as it was an honest mistake, and he stayed with the company for several more years.
Does anyone have the link to the story about the guy who found a Made in China power strip w/ a hidden bug inside?
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hacked-from-china-is-your-kettl...
The power strip calls you as soon as it detects a sound.
https://www.npr.org/2019/12/23/790832681/6-year-old-finds-me...