Laptops have even ended careers. In 2016, a senior Israeli general, Major General Hagi Topolanski, resigned after a military laptop was stolen from his home. Although the theft was likely a common burglary, the risk of compromising classified material led him to step down to uphold military norms. Classified German military documents sold on eBay - DW News

: A soldier found the drive and plugged it into a military laptop. This acted as a "digital beachhead," allowing a rogue program to spread undetected across both unclassified and classified networks.

: A foreign intelligence agent left an infected flash drive at a base in the Middle East.

The most infamous real-world "military laptop story" is the 2008 hack of the U.S. Department of Defense.

Military laptops often end up in civilian hands through surplus sales or theft, sometimes with sensitive data still intact.

: In 2009, a journalist in Peshawar, Pakistan, purchased a ruggedized U.S. military laptop for $650. It contained vehicle diagnostic data and information about flaws in American military vehicles used in Afghanistan. The General’s Resignation

: Inside, they found classified instructions on how to destroy the LeFlaSys Ozelot , a mobile air defense missile system.

: Known as Operation Buckshot Yankee , this breach was described as the most significant in U.S. military history and led directly to the creation of the U.S. Cyber Command . The Surplus Blunders: eBay and Black Markets