US Military Disables Ad Trackers On Devices To Protect Troops (reuters.com) 53
Slashdot reader DeanonymizedCoward writes: Reuters reports that the US Military is disabling ad tracking on devices, to prevent adversaries from buying publicly-available tracking data to assist in targeting troops. Military officials say that they have disabled trackers on a variety of computers and mobile devices, according to letters released on Friday by Sen. Ron Wyden, and following reports that commercially-available tracking data has been used to target troops in the Middle East....
Wyden said in a statement that it was clear that the military's efforts "have not been effective at neutralizing this threat." U.S. Representative Pat Harrigan, a North Carolina Republican, said that U.S. enemies "should not be able to pull out a credit card and buy information that helps them track American troops." Rep. Harrigan remains silent as to the larger question of whether the general public should be able to pull out a credit card and buy information that helps them track anyone they please.
"The Pentagon said in an email it would respond to the lawmakers directly," Reuters reports: The Army said in a statement that advertising IDs had been blocked on Windows computers "since before 2021" but that Android and Apple mobile devices had only had it disabled by default "since at least February 2026...." The effort to reduce the location data generated by smartphones comes as military officials weigh increasingly strict restrictions on phone use overall. In July, Reuters reported that some deployed personnel in the Middle East could be ordered to surrender their phones amid concerns that mobile videos they were posting to the internet were helping Iran target American bases in the region.
Wyden said in a statement that it was clear that the military's efforts "have not been effective at neutralizing this threat." U.S. Representative Pat Harrigan, a North Carolina Republican, said that U.S. enemies "should not be able to pull out a credit card and buy information that helps them track American troops." Rep. Harrigan remains silent as to the larger question of whether the general public should be able to pull out a credit card and buy information that helps them track anyone they please.
"The Pentagon said in an email it would respond to the lawmakers directly," Reuters reports: The Army said in a statement that advertising IDs had been blocked on Windows computers "since before 2021" but that Android and Apple mobile devices had only had it disabled by default "since at least February 2026...." The effort to reduce the location data generated by smartphones comes as military officials weigh increasingly strict restrictions on phone use overall. In July, Reuters reported that some deployed personnel in the Middle East could be ordered to surrender their phones amid concerns that mobile videos they were posting to the internet were helping Iran target American bases in the region.
What about the rest of us (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What about the rest of us (Score:5, Insightful)
Yep, not hard at all, Just make a general ban on user tracking.
Problem solved for not just end users but also traditional media as well. Puts all businesses back on a level footing.
Bonus, also takes away the driving force behind user engagement and the resulting abuses.
Re: What about the rest of us (Score:4, Insightful)
Anyone here not figure Iran was targeting soldiers using cell phones?
And of course he goal of all the slop we put on our phones is to put trackers on. A hundred data brokers are pinging our every move.
And it wonâ(TM)t stop. Capitalism will truly sell you the rope to hang it with.
Very appropriate for the USA to lose a war this way. Itâ(TM)s pathetic and stupid.
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Yep, not hard at all, Just make a general ban on user tracking.
How about just banning advertising, it's a pointless waste of time and obsolete.
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That was my first thought. It's a big step towards pointing out how invasive it is.
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Re:What about the rest of us (Score:5, Interesting)
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So they acknowledge ad tracking is dangerous. So how about disabling it everywhere?
So you want the government to come into your electronics and decide how it operates?
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I want it more than I want the alternative.
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You want them to be in charge of your computer, more than you want to be the one in charge of it?
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There's no option for me to be in charge of it. It's a question of which them do I want. The option of Microsoft, Google, LG, etc. having sole control isn't working out too well.
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Go ahead. You are your own army. Like most people, you probably forgot to ever add the US Military to the sudoers group on your computer, so 100% of that power remains in your hands, not someone else's. Have you decided to disable as tracking? Or are you still hesitating, wondering if disabling trackers is the right thing for you?
If you decide you do want to stop giving free data to trackers, but you're not sure what's the easiest way to do it, then just install Firefox and both the uBlock Origin and Priva
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Silly rabbit (Score:1)
If you don't want to be tracked, you have to completely turn off that little radio beacon in your pocket. I would say the troops should carry old fashion two way radios that only transmit when you hold down the button. Leave the damn phone at home!
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Yeah, because talking to your husband/wife back at your duty station in the US works so well over a walkie-talkie. Problems with sick children, delayed pay issues, and return from theater dates are so easy to cram into the 15-minute time slot you get at a land line at the MWR tent.
I think a custom SIM that only connects to the forward site's microcell tower and statefull packet inspection of banned apps are much easier to manage. When you leave the forward site, you turn in the custom SIM and get your com
Re:Silly rabbit (Score:4, Funny)
You just invented the landline.
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In a totally unrelated development, el Bunko's sons have set up a new company devoted to securely connecting U.S. troops with their families and other necessary personnel.
Just kidding....at least until el Bunko's sons discover this untapped value of National Security.
Mandate turning off the location option (Score:2)
Maybe the DoD needs an app that disables the location option when on a military installation.
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This is just another variation of BYOD. I don't know how many job functions soldiers carry out on their phones, but they are employed the entire time they are deployed so even if they are only using it for R&R they are still doing that under the auspices of breaks between job functions. As such they should be issued devices.
Re:Offtopic (Score:4, Insightful)
It operates without scripting. Which means no tracking scripts. I'm more than happy for that trade.
Show me any social media site that can offer better. Makes Slashdot the most cutting edge, IMHO. :-)
Re: Offtopic (Score:2)
Re: Offtopic (Score:5, Funny)
Press the ' key on the keyboard
Re: Offtopic (Score:5, Informative)
I think some folks are posting from things that have "smart quotes" turned on, and either don't want to, or don't know how to turn it off. Or they just don't care.
Re:Offtopic (Score:5, Interesting)
And you cannot like or dislike a post. What a relic.
Slashdot's comment moderation system was introduced, IIRC, in 1999.
I suppose a system designed to limit the effect of bots and morons could be regarded as a relic, as it doesn't "monetise engagement."
On the other hand, "tell me you've never had mod points without telling me you've never had mod points."
Re:Offtopic (Score:4, Interesting)
The genius of the Slashdot system is that if you want to vote, you can't comment. If you disagree it's usually better to reply and state your reasons, with voting reserved for comments that are valuable or which are outright abuse like spam.
Unfortunately back in the day Taco implemented a system where the site can decide you aren't moderating the way it wants you to, and perma ban your account from ever getting mod points again. Over time the probability of them happening to your account trends towards 1. That also opens the door to people who want to abuse the system by creating new accounts, which get mod points often because there just aren't that many active accounts that haven't been banned.
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What do you base this on? I'm going by what Taco posted on Twitter years ago... Or it might have been in an interview, I forget.
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adjust your posting/page load frequency until you are an average user,
And remember: There are no enemies to the left./s
Actually, I'd perfer a system that rewards positive moderation with more mod points. There are too many -1s handed out to shut up people with controversial ideas. Some of us have to read at -1 just to get any value out of this board.
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As I recall, the allocation - or otherwise - of mod-points is based on an account's karma level, which in turn is determined by positive/negative moderation of the user's own posts.
So, if you don't post, or no-one thinks anything you do post is worthwhile, then no mod-points for you.
I suppose the system could be gamed if one were to create enough sock-puppet accounts, as I don't think there is enough under-the-hood analysis to prevent it, but I can't think of any good reason to do so - it's not like anyone
Too many leaks, too few fingers (Score:5, Informative)
"According to cybersecurity experts, including the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), one of the most effective ways to mitigate data broker threats is to disable the unique advertising IDs built into smartphones. "
So all they are doing is turning off advertising IDs in the OS? ...eh..... hmm.....
"Another possibility is that disabling the advertising ID is no longer a sufficient defense on its own, as data brokers can still capture, correlate, and monetize unique location data using other information collected from phones. "
Ding ding ding... we have a winner.
how sad can you get? american sad (Score:1)
what a joke that they don't have their own devices and are using this plagued bullshit
Tracking data ... (Score:2)
There should be laws against collecting this in the first place. And don't expect the DoW to provide a list of personnel not to be tracked. That, and a list of people with security clearances is as valuable as the tracking data itself.
Google and other executives will have to think carefully about the black vans that will pull up to their homes. And the resulting flight to someplace like Guantanamo Bay.
Operation Blue Balls (Score:2, Funny)
...some deployed personnel in the Middle East could be ordered to surrender their phones amid concerns...
Oh great, just when the troops are finally clean shaven and testosterone'd up, now they can't use their hookup apps.
Wait... (Score:2)
But we give politicians devices that do exactly those things?
Yeah. Honor our servicemen indeed.
Re: (Score:2)
But we give politicians devices that do exactly those things?
But we don't ban politicians from carrying their own personal devices. No TikTok on gov't phones? No problem. Hegseth can flex in front of his own iPhone.
LG TV (Score:3)
After the video that GamersNexus posted earlier tonight about LG's TV and LGE/Alphonso ad tracking/delivery service I think there's going to be several emails and phone calls in the morning about the usage and deployment of various LG devices in government and military installations.
To say the shit is about to hit the fans is an understatement.
Not just LG (Score:2)
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After the video that GamersNexus posted earlier tonight about LG's TV and LGE/Alphonso ad tracking/delivery service I think there's going to be several emails and phone calls in the morning about the usage and deployment of various LG devices in government and military installations.
This has been going on for years with other manufacturers. https://www.ftc.gov/business-g... [ftc.gov]
https://www.theatlantic.com/te... [theatlantic.com]
https://www.theatlantic.com/te... [theatlantic.com]
To say the shit is about to hit the fans is an understatement.
I hope so, I really do. But past experience suggests that most people simply don't care.
Exceptions (Score:2)
US Military Disables Ad Trackers On Devices To Protect Troops
Ads for testosterone boosters will still pass through -- troops gotta meet those new standards Hegseth has arbitrarily imposed (even though they're temporarily rescinded). Also exempt are ads for boner pills, condoms, "enlargement" devices, alcohol and hair gel - no explanation was offered by the Pentagon.
Ad trackers on troop devices :o (Score:2)
* Bluetooth devices and accessories
* Cars and connected vehicles
* Fitness watches and other wearables
* Navigation and mapping apps
* Retail, travel, and loyalty appsSmart-home devices
* Smartphones and tablets
* Social-media apps and posted photographs/videos
* Wi-Fi networks and connected electronics
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Using any kind of consumer product could be used to track troop movements. Ban all of the following:
* Bluetooth devices and accessories
* Cars and connected vehicles
* Fitness watches and other wearables
* Navigation and mapping apps
* Retail, travel, and loyalty appsSmart-home devices
* Smartphones and tablets
* Social-media apps and posted photographs/videos
* Wi-Fi networks and connected electronics
I always assumed they did ban those things in military facilities. It seems like plain common sense.
ad trackers (Score:2)
I'm surprised (Score:2)
I am quite surprised, in all honesty, that the military even allows personal electronic devices with transmit / receive
capability at all while deployed outside of CONUS.
It's simply too big of a operational security risk.