Pentagon Restricts Use of Location-Logging Fitness Trackers (cnn.com) 32
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.
Slashdot does not restrict use of dupes (Score:2, Informative)
dupe alert
dupe alert
Re: Slashdot does not restrict use of dupes (Score:2, Informative)
Why mod this down?
https://m.slashdot.org/story/344292
FAKE NEWS
Re: Slashdot does not restrict use of dupes (Score:1)
Yeah, between msmash repost nirvana and BeauHD ignoring all the sumbitted stories, you are on to something. Notice how many AJ censorship stories were posted yesterday and were ignored by the fake news editors who refuse to post real news.
Re: (Score:2)
https://yro.slashdot.org/story... [slashdot.org]
in the army the DI has to remind you 5 times a day (Score:2)
in the army the DI has to remind you 5 times a day to do something.
Re: (Score:1)
I really find that upsetting they didn't foresee this would be a problem, too. What's next, the shocking revelation that cellphone apps may reveal their location, too?
GPS is read-only ; Cloud is not (Score:3)
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, a
Re: (Score:2)
But wouldn't the phone itself give away the same information
Phone spy (Score:2)
By default, out-of-the box, most Android phone will only leak location information to the proprietary Google Service used for maps and fused location (i.e.: your phone uploads a list of all cell tower and wifi point that you see within range and their respective signal strengh, Google's cloud would do some triangulation and give you back a somewhat good location approximation, faster than it would take to get a lock on GPS sattelites - or even if you can't lock them, e.g.: because you're indoor)..
And Google
well golly sarge I did not know that! (Score:2)
well golly sarge I did not know that!
Re: (Score:2)
and the way they are "fixing" it just makes it WORSE
example
S'hogan from Whackistan breaks into say FITBITs datacenter and taps into Steve Rogers account. He then starts logging the activity. One day the activity STOPS if he is doing his job then he will be on the phone to his commander to report that "Rogers has gone dark" (this means some nasty folks are going to be ducking a shield very soon).
what they should do is have any DOTMIL fitbits link to a server in the Pentagon/Cheyenne Mountain/[LOCATION REDACT
North Korean wellness outreach program (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
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.
With a *really* nice one for Kim... Gold plated, comfort band and a calorie counter that halves the input and doubles the expended numbers.
Deja vu (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
They walk off site and start talking to random local people about their shift work on base.
The random people around a US/UK base/ports are all spies who know who to listen and talk.
The friendships turn the contractor into a spy.
The contractor is told to become a spy for cash, faith, lifestyle..
The US and UK contractors start to really like their new friends and talk more about all kinds of working conditions and what is not allowed.
Secret bases identified (Score:2)