Workout app accidentally reveals secret military bases

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Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/01/29/workout-app-accidentally-revea.html

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“Your secret is safe with me” said the internet.

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A couple things said by smarter people than me:

  • These are not likely secret bases to ‘the enemies’ as there’s no way you can easily hide a compound with even 30 people, and if they have the ability to go out for runs, definitely not secret. Not advertised to people back home, sure. If the enemy is a local insurgency, they are close enough to see the big camp with barbed wire and lots of humvees. If they’re a bigger player, they’re seeing the same thing on their satellite imagery.
  • This could actually be a problem for people working in areas where they could be abducted, ransomed. Ie, they now know your usual jogging route and will be waiting with a white van. Military support personnel, NGO workers, etc.
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These are not likely secret bases to ‘the enemies’ as there’s no way you can easily hide a compound with even 30 people, and if they have the ability to go out for runs, definitely not secret. Not advertised to people back home, sure. If the enemy is a local insurgency, they are close enough to see the big camp with barbed wire and lots of humvees. If they’re a bigger player, they’re seeing the same thing on their satellite imagery.

What you said is exactly true, as is the second graph, but again the above applies as well, if you are out running everyday out of the secure perimeter, anyone can observe and record as operatives have done for many long years. Even inside the wire is no guarantee of privacy, especially in the areas discussed related to this article. Locals sympathetic to or compromised by bad actors are working inside these facilities.

But also, I work with sat imagery in sensitive areas rarely, but the last time I did, a national government had conveniently pointed out all of the military installations by blurring them out in my imagery. My point being that blocking things out can be as much an “information leak” as this.

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Sadly Area 51 just had one lone bicyclist. (Captive alien getting daily exercise?)

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