What He Did on His Summer Break: Exposed a Global Security Flaw
- 6 years ago
What He Did on His Summer Break: Exposed a Global Security Flaw
Mr. Ruser, who studies international security at Australian National University in Canberra,
is not a Strava user ("I sometimes go for walks, but I’m not very fit," he said).
"Usually I see them on top of a cyberrelated issue hours, if not days, before it ends up on the media." John Blaxland, a professor of international security
and intelligence studies at Australian National University, taught Mr. Ruser last year.
30, 2018
SYDNEY, Australia — When Nathan Ruser, an Australian university student, posted on Twitter over the weekend
that a fitness app had revealed the locations of military sites in Syria and elsewhere, he did not expect much response.
But the news ricocheted across the internet, alarming security experts, who said hostile entities could glean valuable intelligence
from the Strava app’s global "heat map," including the locations of secret bases and the movements of military personnel.
When he looked over Syria on Strava’s map — which is based on location data from millions of users, including
military personnel, who share their exercise activity — the area "lit up with those U.S. bases," he said.
Thailand said that Whoever thought that operational security could be wrecked by a Fitbit?
Mr. Ruser, who studies international security at Australian National University in Canberra,
is not a Strava user ("I sometimes go for walks, but I’m not very fit," he said).
"Usually I see them on top of a cyberrelated issue hours, if not days, before it ends up on the media." John Blaxland, a professor of international security
and intelligence studies at Australian National University, taught Mr. Ruser last year.
30, 2018
SYDNEY, Australia — When Nathan Ruser, an Australian university student, posted on Twitter over the weekend
that a fitness app had revealed the locations of military sites in Syria and elsewhere, he did not expect much response.
But the news ricocheted across the internet, alarming security experts, who said hostile entities could glean valuable intelligence
from the Strava app’s global "heat map," including the locations of secret bases and the movements of military personnel.
When he looked over Syria on Strava’s map — which is based on location data from millions of users, including
military personnel, who share their exercise activity — the area "lit up with those U.S. bases," he said.
Thailand said that Whoever thought that operational security could be wrecked by a Fitbit?