Viraldice: Fitness App Poses National Security Threat by Exposing Secret Military Information

Fitness App Poses National Security Threat by Exposing Secret Military Information

trava, a fitness app offering social networking for athletes, reveals the locations of its users so that you can link up with a local group of runners or find a fellow hiker or two while on the mountain. Sounds great, right? After recent revelations have exposed the app's potential risk to national security, the U.S Military isn’t so sure about Strava.  

 

 

Strava Social Fitness App Reveals TMI

Strava’s Fitness app is designed to make your exercise routine more social and enjoyable. According to Strava, their app allows you “track your running and riding with GPS, join Challenges, share photos from your activities, and follow friends.”

Strava’s website asks, “Who else can you find?” with their heatmap feature. But it’s not just who you can find that counts, but also what you can find and when you can find it.

Perceptive Twitter User Raises Security Concerns Caused by Strava App

On Saturday, 20-year-old Australian student and founding member of the Institute for United Conflict Analysts, Nathan Ruser, exposed potential risks that the app poses to national security, in a tweet that now has the US Military taking a closer look. Ruser claims in the tweet that US Military Bases are not only identifiable but are also mappable on Strava’s fitness app. 

 

Thermal Heat Map Feature and Available User Information Create Security Concerns

The app’s harmless motivations possibly pose serious national security risks. Information from Strava’s thermal map feature, along with user data that’s available online, can be used to configure the activities and schedules of users.

 

Strava App Adds New Layer to Google Maps Information

While U.S. Military Base locations have been identifiable through Google Maps for some time, Strava’s app reveals additional user information that could be dangerously valuable to enemies of the United States.