US forces deployed to war zones have been targeted using commercially available location data, according to reports fielded by military officials, an illustration of how the global surveillance economy is shaping the battlefield.
In a letter shared with Reuters by US Senator Ron Wyden — an Oregon Democrat — US Central Command (Centcom) says it received multiple threat reports concerning adversary exploitation of commercial location data to target or surveil US personnel in theatre.
The message, sent on April 14, offered no further specifics, but Centcom’s area of responsibility includes the Gulf, where US forces are facing off against the Iranian military over the Strait of Hormuz.
The disclosure is the first official confirmation that US forces had been targeted in an active war zone, Wyden and a bipartisan group of legislators have said in a letter sent on Thursday to the Pentagon.
“Commercial location data can be used to identify where US 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,” the letter warns.
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