Pentagon Confirms Adversaries Using Commercial Phone Location Data to Target US Troops
By
Dell Cameron
Hand-rolled, kettle-boiled, baked to perfection. Worth every minute at the bakery.
Summary
The Pentagon was warned for nearly a decade that commercial location data from mobile phones could be exploited by adversaries to track and target US military personnel. Despite these warnings from contractors, analysts, and intelligence agencies, the military failed to implement cheap, available fixes. US Central Command has now officially confirmed that adversaries are using commercial location data from data brokers to target or surveil American forces in active war zones, marking the first official acknowledgment of this threat.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledUS Central Command now confirms it has received 'multiple threat reports concerning adversary exploitation of commercial location data to target or surveil US personnel in theater'
For nearly a decade, the Pentagon was warned—by its own contractors, analysts, and intelligence agencies—that anyone with a credit card could buy a map of where American troops sleep, work, and store nuclear weapons.
The US military has long known that cheap fixes could stop location data from exposing its troops. It adopted almost none—and now says adversaries are using the data to target soldiers during a war.
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