When men and women are serving their country overseas, there’s nothing like a touch of home. It brings hope in a difficult situation. That’s why military personnel – regardless of age or rank – love receiving letters from home. As well as care packages.
Once you’re finished reading this communication, I have a suggestion. Please share your appreciation for our service members in the blog comments section [link]. Or a personal story.
Our troops also gain contentment from their cellphones. Phones keep them up to date with what’s happening back home. And allow them to communicate with loved ones.
But do those cellphones put them and fellow soldiers at risk? Can those phones tip off the enemy to the location of American forces? And even reveal strategic plans?
Battlefield Intelligence Compromised
That’s a major concern of militaries around the world. Including the U.S. military. Smartphones and social media can compromise battlefield intelligence.
Recently, Ukrainian forces pinpointed the position of Russian soldiers. This was in the occupied city of Makiivka.
Ukraine hit this temporary base with a missile strike. It killed an undisclosed number of Russians. Phones carried by Russian soldiers pinged Ukraine’s cellular network.
Information gathered from transmissions allowed Ukrainian forces to triangulate location information. This aided the strike. The Russian Defense Ministry attributed their losses to the unauthorized use of smartphones.
Phone Apps Reveal Location Data
Surveillance methods have evolved over time. But social media and smartphones have enabled it to take a giant leap.
It’s no longer a simple matter of censoring letters sent and received by soldiers. A huge amount of data is available to prying eyes through social media and cellphones. This makes monitoring the situation a challenge.
The Russians are very familiar with this. Long before the Ukraine war began, they tracked Ukrainian artillery movements by using cell-site simulators.
Most militaries tell soldiers not to turn on their smartphones when they’re on or near a battlefield. Some threaten jail time for violations. But instructions are often ignored.
Even if soldiers reveal nothing specific through texts, their use of apps can send data to the cloud. And enemy hackers can sometimes access that data… And use it to their advantage. Particularly when it comes to location.
Policies Vary by Country
It’s interesting seeing how regulations against cellphone use by soldiers have worked out.
U.S. Army paratroopers in the Middle East were prohibited from carrying personal devices. That was due to advanced cyber capabilities of several countries. Including China, Russia, and Iran. It was considered a successful strategy.
Prior to that, South Korea officials banned personal phones for its soldiers. And enforced the rules.
But they determined the soldiers’ morale problems were not worth any strategic gain the ban provided.
Cellphones Are Easily Hacked
The most basic vulnerability of cellphones is location exposure. Many apps leak that type of data on a continual basis.
That can be due to the user’s failure to install updates. Or it could be an inferior design by the manufacturer. Some apps are notoriously bad at protecting personal data.
Statistics show over 50% of attempts to monitor phone calls on 3G networks are successful. And about 90% of text messages can be intercepted.
Spyware can track a phone’s location. And access its camera and gather information from apps. Plus track calls, read text messages, and even collect passwords.
Even Fitness & Ride Share Apps Are Vulnerable
A recent war games simulation was held in the Mojave Desert. A U.S. Marine Corps lance corporal was responsible for his unit’s “destruction.” Why? Because he posted a picture of them on social media, revealing their location.
Now, that was a hypothetical situation. But it happens in real life. Russian military transporting a missile launcher was followed during its route. Due to soldiers posting social media messages and taking selfies in front of signs revealing locations.
A few years ago, a popular fitness app was used by U.S. soldiers. They recorded their favorite running routes. But they exposed locations of military and intelligence installations to the world.
The Chinese military discovered something similar. Ride apps used by soldiers returning to base revealed installation location data.
Prior to its recent invasion of Israel, Hamas enticed Israeli soldiers to share personal information. They used fake social media profiles of attractive young women.
The Search for a Happy Medium Continues
Sometimes overlooked in this discussion is the advantage smartphones can provide. Soldiers communicating with each other in silence can save lives. And even enhance a military strike.
Of course, these advantages must be weighed against potential intelligence risks, including the problem of revealing one’s location.
The answer may lie in enhanced software blocking location monitoring. And in educating troops about when to have phones turned off. And which apps result in the most exposure.
Hopefully the advantages of cellphone use on the battlefield can overcome disadvantages. Then the cellphone could become an important part of a soldier’s military equipment.
