U.S. Department of Defense Disables Advertising Tracking on Troops' Devices

The U.S. Department of Defense has disabled advertising tracking on troops’ phones and computers to protect them from threats targeting their locations, according to a letter shared with Senator Ron Wyden. The letter indicated that the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Special Operations Command have disabled advertising tracking across their government-issued devices, including iPhones, Android devices, and Windows computers managed across the federal military enterprise network. Reuters reported that the military implemented these protections earlier this year, with the Air Force making changes more recently in July. The initiative aims to prevent adversaries, including hostile governments, from using location data derived from apps on troops’ phones to target them on the battlefield or at their bases. Location data collected from phone apps is often shared with third-party companies and data brokers, which then sell the information on the commercial market. Disabling the advertising ID makes it more difficult to identify individuals, as the location data blends in with others whose advertising IDs are also disabled. Wyden raised concerns earlier this year in a letter to U.S. military leaders after discovering that unnamed foreign adversaries had targeted U.S. troops in the Middle East using commercially obtained location data. While Wyden acknowledged the commendable move to reduce advertising tracking, he cautioned that personal devices of troops and contractors brought onto military bases could still expose service members and facilities to attacks. The U.S. government has recognized the risks posed by this data, and the U.S. intelligence community and the FBI have confirmed that they purchase this data for surveillance and intelligence collection without a warrant.