Why Military Leaders Need to Rethink Battlefield Intelligence in a Smartphone Era

The Ukrainian military recently used Russian telephone signals to attack Killed dozens (or more – tolls highly disputed) at a temporary base in the occupied Makiewka city.The Russian Ministry of Defense subsequently issued a Rare statement The unprecedented losses stem from the widespread, albeit unauthorized, use of personal phones. While it was powered on, the phone was pinging the Ukrainian cellular network, allowing the Ukrainian military to triangulate its precise location.

Russia is rumored to be as well exploited Roaming signals for tracking Ukrainians by equipping trucks and drones with base station simulators. 2014-2016 Russian hacking group fancy bear (APT 28) Android allegedly used to track Ukrainian artillery movements malware.

The proliferation of smartphones and social media has revolutionized the dynamics of surveillance, especially in theaters. Social media needs few intermediaries. This means military members can use their smartphones to participate in online interactions without supervision. More data is being generated and shared than ever before, including information about places, habits, health, relationships, religious beliefs, and more. The military often instructs soldiers in the field not to use personal phones, but the rule is usually ignored.

Military commanders have historically had a high degree of control over the information flowing to and from the armed forces under their supervision. In the pre-digital era, soldiers who wrote letters sent by mail knew their letters were subject to censorship. Today, the sheer amount of digital information that military personnel can intentionally (such as through social media posts) or inadvertently (through the use of apps that send data to the cloud) makes it a real problem for military leaders. as impossible. To fully monitor the flow of information. A military leader hardly understands the information his men inadvertently provided to the enemy.

The prevalence of smartphones today has significantly changed the availability of intelligence. However, analyzing the vast amount of available data is very difficult. So the asymmetry is not in access, but in discoverability. For example, access to advanced artificial intelligence used to extract meaning from large amounts of data varies from state to state.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to protect smartphones from information leaks (due to different signaling protocols, each with their own It is not possible if you want to send ( Strava). An attempt to curb the use of personal telephones among armed forces. threat The number of military prisons housing Russian soldiers who violate smartphone use and social media policies has failed to prevent its use.

Military leaders sometimes ban phones altogether. Ban from carrying personal devices Russia, ChinaWhen Iran regional. But South Korea, which once outright banned private phones (and strictly enforced the rules), eased In 2018, that policy changed due to low morale and widespread frustration.

The military must adapt to the realities of an era where the use of smartphones and social media by soldiers is inevitable. Proactively understanding the specific vulnerabilities associated with the ecosystem of data collected by apps running on soldiers’ smartphones will help protect data that may be of interest to military adversaries. It helps identify the apps that are particularly good (or particularly bad).

Part of the solution also requires rapid detection and localization of unauthorized transmissions from within friendly ranks while abroad, and the creation of a technical framework for enforcing security policies. am.Armed Forces Already Watch Their Own Armed Forces — Israel eavesdropping to the soldier for more than ten years To disable Protocol-violating personal devices, but functionality neither comprehensive nor consistent.

But more importantly, educate soldiers that some forms of smartphone use, seemingly harmless and morale-critical, expose far more information than they might expect. is toRelying is not enough generic Instead, military leaders should make digital hygiene a critical component of programs such as advanced individualized training. This training should teach soldiers the basics of signal intelligence and how to avoid the most obvious collection opportunities. This program can be used to build a culture of awareness throughout the military, including by communicating real-world examples of potential consequences of unsafe smartphone use. The Israel Defense Forces’ approach of prioritizing both could serve as a potential model.

Battlefield smartphones are effective despite nasty vulnerabilities unfathomable tactical opportunity. A key challenge for modern militaries is to maximize the benefits of the extraordinary communication and computing power of current and next-generation smartphones, while sufficiently mitigating the equally extraordinary cyber and intelligence risks associated with their use. There is a thing.

Maya Villasenor is a computer science student and former intern in the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program at Columbia University.