The years go by, but nothing changes. The military, the bodyguards of the world's most prominent leaders and members of the intelligence services, who are supposed to be well-versed in discretion, can't help but share their sporting exploits with the world on the social media app Strava. An investigation by Le Monde reveals that men charged with protecting Emmanuel Macron, several US presidents and Vladimir Putin can be identified through their use of the sports-tracking app, endangering their mission and the lives of those they protect. Revelations of security flaws of this kind mark the existence of Strava, the leading app of its kind with over 125 million users.

It all began in early 2018, with the app's "activity map." The social media, which unveiled it a few weeks earlier, shows all its users' aggregated journeys on it: the thicker and brighter the line, the greater the number of athletes who have taken that route. In all major cities, parks and river banks shine brightly. Conversely, areas where Strava users are scarce remain dark. But when an Australian student's curiosity leads him over the Syrian desert, he sees that there are glowing trails.

The reason is simple: military personnel, generally sports enthusiasts of the app, didn't think to protect their activity and instead posted it publicly. By aggregating anonymous data, Strava reveals the presence of military bases worldwide or, more frequently, their layout and the paths taken by military personnel in or around them. In the United States, the Pentagon claims to be taking the matter very seriously. In France, the Ministry of the Armed Forces is also tightening the screws. As for Strava, it shifts the responsibility to its users, specifying that only public activities were aggregated, but pledges to simplify privacy settings.

Shortly afterwards, investigations by French satirical weekly Le Canard enchaîné and daily newspaper Le Télégramme revealed an even bigger loophole: It is possible to identify by name members of the intelligence services or French soldiers without going through the anonymous map, but by exploring activities posted on Strava. Some are members of the French foreign intelligence agency (DGSE), the domestic intelligence service (DGSI), or military personnel stationed at the Ile Longue base in Brittany, home to France's nuclear submarines. From their profiles, it's child's play to find out their home address, their habits and even, when they take them with them on sports outings, their loved ones.

You have 48.81% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.