The movements of world leaders, in particular the illegitimate president of the Russian aggressor country Vladimir Putin, can be tracked on the Internet through a fitness application used by their bodyguards. Le Monde writes about this on October 29.
As evidenced by the investigation of the French publication, some agents of the security services of the presidents of Russia, France and the United States use the Strava fitness application. It is often used by runners or cyclists. In early 2018, the app provided an activity map. It shows all the aggregated trips of its users: the thicker and brighter the line, the more athletes have traveled this route.
Military servicemen, as a rule, sports enthusiasts, did not defend their activity and instead made it public, according to the publication. By aggregating anonymous data, Strava reveals the presence or location of military bases around the world and the routes that military personnel have taken on or around them. Even more, it was found that it is possible to identify by name members of the intelligence services or the military, not by going to the anonymous map, but by studying the activities posted on Strava.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000Le Monde journalists discovered six employees of the Federal Security Service who are responsible for Putin's security and have public Strava accounts. Their movements, in particular during professional trips, could be tracked online.
The security service of French President Emmanuel Macron found 12 people using the app, and the US Secret Service – 26. American agents whose movements can be tracked, in addition to Biden, guard his wife, presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, as well as his wife Melania. The publication cites a case when, based on the profile of a Secret Service agent, journalists identified a hotel in San Francisco, where Biden stayed shortly before the important talks with the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, in 2023. A few hours before Biden's arrival, the agent went for a run, and his route was visible through Strava.
In the US, the Pentagon says it takes the matter very seriously. In France, the Ministry of the Armed Forces is also stepping up measures. As for Strava, the company says that users themselves publicly post data.