The ad-tracking industry is exposing US soldiers on the battlefield

Central Command reports multiple threat reports about adversary exploitation of commercial location data to target or surveil US personnel in theater. The military acknowledges that data broker feeds are being used against US forces in the Middle East. Off-the-shelf tracking tools can reveal where service members live, work, train, and move through sensitive locations. Mobile apps collect geolocation and advertising IDs, third-party trackers follow devices across sites and services, and brokers package the resulting data into products sold to customers. A prior demonstration used commercially purchased data to track phones from US bases through Turkey into northern Syria, converging on a covert forward operating base. The same data could be used by advertisers or foreign intelligence services.

"US Central Command now says adversaries are exploiting commercial location data to track American personnel in active war zones, confirming that the same infrastructure that powers targeted advertising is being used against deployed forces."

"Centcom said it had received "multiple threat reports concerning adversary exploitation of commercial location data to target or surveil US personnel in theater." It is also the first time the military has formally acknowledged that data broker feeds are being used against US forces in the Middle East."

"The core technology is basic adtech rather than anything resembling traditional espionage. Mobile apps collect geolocation and advertising IDs, third-party trackers follow devices across sites and services, and brokers package that data into products they sell to customers."

"In 2016, a government technologist walked senior officers through a live example using commercially purchased data. Using data bought on the open market, they tracked phones moving from Fort Bragg and MacDill Air Force Base through Turkey and into northern Syria, where the signals converged on a covert forward operating base. The same feeds were available to any advertiser - or any foreign intelligence service willing to pay."

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