Nicolai Haugsted
U.S. Central Command has received multiple threat reports, according to letter.
Modern warfare is no longer confined to battlefields, missiles and drones.
According to newly disclosed information from the US military, commercially available location data may have helped adversaries track and monitor American troops deployed in active conflict zones.
Revelation has triggered alarm in Washington, where lawmakers are now demanding urgent action against what some describe as a growing national security threat hidden inside the digital advertising industry.
Military Receives Multiple Threat Reports
Information emerged through correspondence between US Central Command and members of Congress.
According to the military command, officials received “multiple threat reports concerning adversary exploitation of commercial location data to target or surveil U.S. personnel in theater.”
Central Command did not provide further details about specific incidents.
Area under its responsibility includes the Gulf region, where American forces have been operating amid heightened tensions involving Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.
Lawmakers describe the disclosure as the first official confirmation that American troops in an active conflict zone have potentially been exposed through commercial tracking data.
Data Collected for Ads Could Become a Weapon
Location information collected through smartphones and digital services is routinely bought and sold across the advertising ecosystem.
Applications, websites and service providers often gather movement data before passing it to brokers who package and resell information to customers.
Critics argue that same system can reveal troop movements, military routines and sensitive locations.
“Commercial location data can be used to identify where U.S. troops congregate and their pattern of life, which can be exploited by adversaries to target attacks such as missiles, drones, and roadside bombs, as well as for counterintelligence purposes,” lawmakers warned in a letter sent to the Pentagon.
Senator Ron Wyden went even further.
“It is time to start treating the adtech industry as a national security threat,” he said.
Pentagon Pressed to Tighten Security
Members of Congress argue military leaders should already have taken stronger precautions.
Suggestions include disabling advertising identifiers on government-issued devices, automatically turning off location sharing and reducing reliance on technology viewed as vulnerable to data collection.
Representative Pat Harrigan, a former US Army Special Forces officer, specifically raised concerns about web browsers that rely heavily on user data.
“Are built from the ground up to collect and share user data,” Harrigan said.
“Every day they remain on government-issued devices is another day we are handing our adversaries a weapon against our own troops.”
Google rejected suggestions that Chrome creates unusual risks.
Company said Chrome provides “industry leading security” and noted that it has long supported stronger regulation of data brokers.
Concern Has Been Building for Years
Warnings about commercially available location data are not new.
Researchers and journalists have repeatedly demonstrated how data purchased through legal channels can reveal movements at military installations and sensitive government facilities.
Previous investigations showed how publicly available datasets could be used to trace military personnel from American bases to overseas operations.
Recent reporting in Europe also exposed detailed movement patterns around several US military and intelligence sites in Germany using information acquired through data brokers.
Growing concerns have now shifted the debate beyond privacy and into national security.
Question facing military planners is no longer whether location data can be exploited.
Question now is how many adversaries may already be doing it.
