[Infowarrior] - How the Spies Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Fitbit

[Richard Forno]

How the Spies Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Fitbit

The debate over whether fitness trackers should be allowed in sensitive areas has dragged on for years.

By Jenna McLaughlin
| February 1, 2018, 12:38 PM
 
When researchers last weekend noticed that a private company had published a global heat map of people running and walking around, based on data uploaded from its fitness application, the news sparked renewed debate in the U.S. national security community about rules governing wearable devices that transmit data.

What wasn’t disclosed by the intelligence and military officials reacting to the news is that the debate over whether fitness trackers should be allowed in sensitive spaces, particularly in intelligence outposts, has raged on for years. And many employees did in fact gain the right to wear certain types of trackers, even in the most sensitive locations.

However, that decision has consistently led to internal disagreement. In some cases, military and  intelligence officials have wide discretion over where and when their employees can use those devices.

“We are aware of the potential impacts of devices that collect and report personal and locational data, such as information contained in the Strava ‘heat map’ recently reported in the press,” a current U.S. intelligence official wrote in an email to Foreign Policy. “The use of personal fitness and similar devices by individuals engaged in U.S. Government support is determined and directed by each agency and department.”

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https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/02/01/how-the-spies-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-fitbit/