- A study found that over one in eight mobile apps for US military personnel contain software from China, Russia, or other foreign nations, raising concerns about data harvesting.
- Researchers identified apps with code from Huawei and Russian companies like Yandex, which could track locations and share data, though no data was observed going to Huawei servers.
- Many apps (64%) contained third-party SDKs for analytics and advertising, with 40% collecting or sharing more data than disclosed in store listings.
- Over 83% of surveyed military-affiliated individuals used apps with data practices that made them uncomfortable, and many lacked institutional guidance on personal app use.
- Participants supported mitigations like in-phone warnings for foreign code, federal laws restricting data brokers, and stricter bans on foreign code in military apps.
- US Central Command confirmed adversaries have exploited commercial location data to target personnel in active war zones, highlighting real-world risks.