Pentagon Restricts Use of Location-Logging Fitness Trackers (cnn.com)

In the beginning of the year, Strava released a data visualization map that showed all the activity tracked by users of its app. The map was detailed enough to potentially give away extremely sensitive information about military personnel on active service in locations across the world. After reviewing their GPS policies, the Pentagon is banning soldiers and other personnel at sensitive bases and warzone areas from using location features on fitness trackers and other devices. Engadget reports: The Department of Defense is not issuing an outright ban on GPS devices and apps, but declared that the location features must be turned off in certain areas. "These geolocation capabilities can expose personal information, locations, routines, and numbers of DOD personnel, and potentially create unintended security consequences and increased risk to the joint force and mission," a memo obtained by the Associated Press said. It's up to ranking officers in less-sensitive areas to decide whether their charges can use GPS functions, based on the threat level in that location. The Defense Department will also provide training on the risks that fitness trackers bring.

Comments

Slashdot does not restrict use of dupes

[Anonymous Coward]

dupe alert

dupe alert

Re: Slashdot does not restrict use of dupes

[Anonymous Coward]

Why mod this down?

https://m.slashdot.org/story/344292

FAKE NEWS

North Korean wellness outreach program

[olsmeister]

As a gesture of goodwill, the Trump administration is sending 40,000,000 wearable fitness trackers to North Korea to help improve the health of their civilian and military population.

Deja vu

[EvilSS]

It almost feels like we've been here before....https://yro.slashdot.org/story/18/08/06/1623218/pentagon-restricts-use-of-fitness-trackers-other-devices

Re:Deja vu

[Alypius]

Yeah, it's been known for a while but didn't get a lot of attention until Strava realized that idiots were sharing their workouts publicly. There was talk and action then; I teach the new kids how to develop their personal sense of paranoia along with other opsec topics. This doesn't really do anything other than provide a bullet for some O-6 trying to make flag.

GPS is read-only ; Cloud is not

[DrYak]

The GPS network is one-way only. You can get your position, but it's difficult to guess your position for somebody else.
There used to be a lot of out-door GPS tracker that only saved the trail locally (e.g.: on a SD Card).

The problem is that most modern sport trackers (even the offline ones) come with - e.g. - an app on the smartphone that links to the tracker (e.g.: over BLE) and that app will automatically slurp everything onto the cloud, unless you're very careful, pay attention to all the small print, and take some time to configure everything.

I think the hierarchy either underestimated the problem of those apps, or though that the people will pay attention and only use in-device tracking and disable any upload.

And now comes the Big Surpsie!!~~~ :
Most peoples are clueless and don't pay attention on the small details, even those doing their jogging or daily-step-counting on restricted/secret grounds (did they get no training about security ?!?), and they'll pay no attention to the built-in "always on by default" cloud features of their gizmo.