A Wake Up Call

Warrigal

SF VIP
Modern technology can be a national security risk.
The Strava app can reveal the location of semi secret military bases.
This nerdy Australian student exploring a map that is available online discovered that military bases in places like Afghanistan are revealed by personnel wearing fitbit devices with a sharing option not cancelled.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-30/australian-university-student-discovers-data/9376420

https://arstechnica.com/information...letes-app-reveals-secret-bases-secret-places/

I'm sure that major world powers already know everything there is to know about semi secret bases from spy satellites but lower level non state actors such as ISIS might find this sort of information useful, especially when it is so freely available on the internet.

Individual personnel can be tracked and the exercise routes regularly used by service personnel are clearly shown. A tempting target for a rocket attack, an IED or a suicide bomber. Targets within the UK have been revealed

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...-divulges-heatmap-secretive-british-sas-base/

This is a wake up call because every piece of new technology may have imbedded in it some means to assist a tech savvy enemy. Something for the top brass to consider.
 

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In a way, this is a funny story. If you work on a secret military base, why would you configure the settings for your device to share your routes with the world? Or, if the device maker automatically does that, why would you choose that device over the competition?
 
In a way, this is a funny story. If you work on a secret military base, why would you configure the settings for your device to share your routes with the world? Or, if the device maker automatically does that, why would you choose that device over the competition?

Most fitness trackers have a built-in GPS so that they can track your activity; that's the point of the device. I'm sure soldiers and others who have bought fitness devices didn't consider the ramifications of the GPS tracking. I know I wouldn't.
 


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