Anyone Can Buy Data Tracking U.S. Soldiers and Spies to Nuclear Vaults and Brothels in Germany

A joint investigation by WIRED, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), and Netzpolitik.org reveals that US companies legally collecting digital advertising data are also providing the world a cheap and reliable way to track the movements of American military and intelligence personnel overseas, from their homes and their children’s schools to hardened aircraft shelters within an airbase where US nuclear weapons are believed to be stored.

A collaborative analysis of billions of location coordinates obtained from a US-based data broker provides extraordinary insight into the daily routines of US service members. The findings also provide a vivid example of the significant risks the unregulated sale of mobile location data poses to the integrity of the US military and the safety of its service members and their families overseas.
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When it comes to jeopardizing national security, even data on low-level personnel can pose a risk, says Vivek Chilukuri, senior fellow and program director of the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Before joining CNAS, Chilukuri served in part as legislative director and tech policy advisor to US senator Michael Bennet on the Senate Intelligence Committee and previously worked at the US State Department, specializing in countering violent extremism.

"Low-value targets can lead to high-value compromises," Chilukuri says. "Even if someone isn't senior in an organization, they may have access to highly sensitive infrastructure. A system is only as secure as its weakest link." He points out that if adversaries can target someone with access to a crucial server or database, they could exploit that vulnerability to cause serious damage. “It just takes one USB stick plugged into the right device to compromise an organization.”

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