How Strava threatens the safety of world leaders

29 October 2024 2 minutes Author: Newsman

Thanks to security training data on the Strava platform, the secret routes of the presidents of the US, France and other world leaders are now available online. This can lead to serious security threats, as even minor actions on the platform allow the location of important persons and their security to be determined.

  • Strava, a popular fitness app for tracking runs and workouts, has become a risk management tool to protect high-ranking officials. More than 12,000 million users worldwide have used Strava to showcase their athletic achievements, including representatives of the US Secret Service, France’s GSPR and Russia’s Federal Security Service. In the course of the investigation, Le Monde found 26 American, 12 French and 6 Russian agents, who perform tasks to protect government officials and have a public profile on Strava. In some cases, investigators even managed to determine the specific location of the president, based on the route of his security.
  • This is not the first time that data from a fitness program has led to the leak of important information. A few years ago, Strava caused a scandal when it was revealed that the US military was using the app to reveal the location of a secret military base. According to the US Secret Service, guards are prohibited from using personal equipment while on duty, but they do not restrict the use of social media during off-duty hours. But this does not change the threat, because the increased risk remains if the guard’s route is in the public domain.
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