London, July 13 (Reuters): Music fans, beware: Britain’s ministry of defence has become the latest organisation to add the iPod to its list of high-tech security risks.

The pocket-sized digital music player, which can store thousands of songs, is one of a series of banned gadgets that the military will no longer allow into most sections of its headquarters in the UK and abroad.

Devices with large storage capabilities — most notably those with a Universal Serial Bus (or USB) plug used to connect to a computer — have been treated with greater suspicion of late by government agencies and corporations alike.

The fear is that the gadgets can be used to siphon information from a computer, turning a seemingly innocuous device into a handy tool for data thieves.

“With USB devices, if you plug it straight into the computer you can bypass passwords and get right on the system,” RAF Wing Commander Peter D’Ardenne said. “That’s why we had to plug that gap,” he said.