An investigation by France’s largest newspaper Le Monde into a preferred health app has raised issues in regards to the security of heads of state and different leaders world wide.
Right here is the complete survey (in French, behind a paywall).
Le Monde has found that doubtlessly categorized actions of U.S. President Joe Biden, candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and different world leaders could be simply accessed on-line through the Strava health app utilized by lots of their bodyguards monitor.
The Related Press studies:
“Le Monde’s investigation into movies revealed in French and English discovered that some U.S. Secret Service brokers used the Strava health app, together with in current weeks following two assassination makes an attempt towards Trump. Strava is a health monitoring app , primarily utilized by runners and cyclists to document their actions and share their exercises with the group.
Le Monde additionally found Strava customers among the many safety personnel of French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a single instance, Le Monde tracked the Strava actions of Macron’s bodyguards and decided that the French chief spent a weekend within the Normandy seaside resort of Honfleur in 2021. It’s not on the president’s official agenda.
Macron, Biden, Putin: Three of the world’s most vital leaders detained due to make use of of safety personnel #Stravaa sports activities social media app.
Watch StravaLeaks Episode 1: Le Monde’s Unique Investigation.
——”Le Monde” English model (@LeMonde_EN) October 28, 2024
The U.S. Safety Service has downplayed the hazard, saying brokers won’t use private digital units whereas on responsibility however won’t be objected to their off-duty use of social media.
“‘Affected personnel have been notified,’ it stated. “We are going to evaluate these messages to find out if any further coaching or steerage is required. […] We don’t assess any impression on conservation operations or threats to any protected particular person, it added. The situation is “disclosed commonly as a part of the general public schedule launch”.
Again in 2023, a USSS agent’s Strava profile dangerously leaked the lodge the place Biden would keep when he met with Chinese language President Xi Jinping in San Francisco by monitoring the agent’s jogging route.
“The newspaper’s journalists stated they recognized 26 US brokers, 12 members of the French GSPR (Safety Group of the President of the Republic) and 6 members of the Russian FSO (Federal Protecting Service), all accountable for presidential safety, who’ve public accounts on Strava , and subsequently talk their actions on-line, together with throughout skilled excursions. For safety causes, Le Monde doesn’t reveal the names of the guards.
Trackable train information on Strava opens the door to potential safety breaches.
“‘Firms like our information and we like our product, so we give it away without cost,'” he stated. “The federal government actually wants to begin cracking down on how information is used and the way lengthy it’s retained.”
Learn extra:
Report: Trump stops enjoying golf after Biden administration tells him Secret Service cannot defend him at golf course
