US military branches disable mobile advertising IDs on government devices over commercial location data targeting risk
Reportedly, the US Army, Air Force, Navy and Special Operations Command have disabled mobile advertising IDs on government-issued phones and computers. The move follows concerns that commercially available location data has been used to target American forces in the Middle East. It became public after Senator Ron Wyden released letters, having pressed the Pentagon on the issue for months. In April, US Central Command reportedly warned of "multiple threat reports concerning adversary exploitation of commercial location data." Wyden and Representative Pat Harrigan have asked the Pentagon inspector general to investigate whether the armed forces have adequately countered the risk. The article notes that personal devices of troops remain a concern.
Detalhes técnicos
- Mobile advertising IDs (Apple IDFA, Google GAID) are shared by most apps with third parties and can reach data brokers.
- Combined with app-collected location data, the ID can be used to track a specific phone's movements continuously.
- In July, Reuters reported that troops in Jordan were told their personal devices would be confiscated to stop adversaries accessing footage and reactions from troops' phones.
- Late last month, the US Navy told personnel to clean up social media profiles, as adversaries might exploit them for open-source intelligence.
Remediação
- iPhone: Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking, then switch off "Allow Apps to Request to Track."
- Android: Settings > Privacy > Ads. Recent versions allow deleting the advertising ID entirely.
- These steps do not stop all tracking or remove data already collected, but they limit further flow to data brokers.
Linha do tempo
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US military branches disable mobile advertising IDs on government devices over commercial location data targeting risk
ler a análise desta fonte ocultar
Reportedly, the US Army, Air Force, Navy and Special Operations Command have disabled mobile advertising IDs on government-issued phones and computers. The move follows concerns that commercially available location data has been used to target American forces in the Middle East. It became public after Senator Ron Wyden released letters, having pressed the Pentagon on the issue for months. In April, US Central Command reportedly warned of "multiple threat reports concerning adversary exploitation of commercial location data." Wyden and Representative Pat Harrigan have asked the Pentagon inspector general to investigate whether the armed forces have adequately countered the risk. The article notes that personal devices of troops remain a concern.
Technical Details
- Mobile advertising IDs (Apple IDFA, Google GAID) are shared by most apps with third parties and can reach data brokers.
- Combined with app-collected location data, the ID can be used to track a specific phone's movements continuously.
- In July, Reuters reported that troops in Jordan were told their personal devices would be confiscated to stop adversaries accessing footage and reactions from troops' phones.
- Late last month, the US Navy told personnel to clean up social media profiles, as adversaries might exploit them for open-source intelligence.
Remediation
- iPhone: Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking, then switch off "Allow Apps to Request to Track."
- Android: Settings > Privacy > Ads. Recent versions allow deleting the advertising ID entirely.
- These steps do not stop all tracking or remove data already collected, but they limit further flow to data brokers.