The United States Military is allegedly purchasing location information from ordinary apps to identify users as part of its counter-terrorism mission strategy.
U.S. Army soldiers salute during the national anthem during the an anniversary ceremony of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 on September 11, 2011 at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. Ten years after the 9/11 attacks in the United States and after almost a decade war in Afghanistan, American soldiers paid their respects in a solemn observence of the tragic day.
Among these apps is the Muslim prayer app, which already received over 98 million downloads. The religious app providers readings from the Quran and reminds them about daily prayers.
According to Yahoo News' latest report, the Muslim Pro is the most popular app among Muslims but is being accused of tracking the locations of the users and selling it to the military department and other brokers.
Ordinary apps sell location information
Vice reported that Muslim Pro is just one of the ordinary apps that sell user location data. Other applications include a popular Craiglist app, a Muslim dating app, a "level" app that can be used to install shelves in a bedroom, and an app for tracking storms.
Members of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Delta Company, participate in a security convoy for civil recunstruction teams during CERTEX February 25, 2005 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The certification exercise, known as CERTEX, will prepare the 1st Brigade Combat Team to operate in Afghanistan during a future deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The exercise will replicate current conditions in Afghanistan, creating an operational environment that reflects the wide range of attitudes and activities of the civilian, religious, ethnic and political factors in the theatre.
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The purchases of different companies and agencies were criticized by many privacy advocates. However, the location data firms, together with their partners, claimed that the location of the people using their apps is anonymized.
They added that their sensitive data are not directly linked to their identities, which means that their location information is unknown. But, some studies contradicted their claims and explained that it is easy to de-anonymize users' location information and then link them back to the individual people.
The U.S. Military's parallel data streams
The US Military is allegedly using apps to separate and parallel data streams to obtain location information. The first one relies on a company called Babel Street. which develops a product called Locate X.
The second stream depends on a company called X-Mode, which acquires location information directly from the applications. After the data are obtained, the company sells that data to contractors, including the military agency.
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Written by: Giuliano de Leon.
