Chinese, Russian Code Found in Apps Marketed to U.S. Troops
Researchers found 64% of military-marketed apps contained third-party code, and 40% collected or shared more data than they disclosed.
- Researchers from Purdue University, the Military Academy at West Point, and Florida International University examined more than 220 apps marketed to military personnel, discovering 76 contained foreign code traced back to Russia and China.
- Nearly two-thirds of the apps contained third-party SDKs capable of tracking user locations, while forty percent collected more data than disclosed in store listings.
- Roughly 7 percent of the apps carried code from nations considered adversarial by the Pentagon. US Central Command acknowledged reports of adversaries exploiting commercial data to target American personnel in the Middle East near the Strait of Hormuz.
- "We are grateful for the opportunity to bring greater attention," says Joshua Shinkle, a Purdue University PhD researcher. The study encourages discussion among developers and policymakers about addressing security gaps.
- Lawmakers, including Senator Ron Wyden, called the findings official confirmation that service members face risks from the data-broker economy. Experts warn this data could help foreign spies identify personnel with access to sensitive sites.
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11 Articles
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Apps targeted at US troops contain Chinese and Russian code
A recent examination of hundreds of mobile apps marketed toward US military personnel found more than one in eight contained software built by companies in China, Russia, or other foreign nations, raising fresh concerns that adversary governments could harvest data revealing where service members live, work, and deploy. According to researchers at Purdue University, the US Military Academy at West Point, and Florida International University, one…
The Epoch Times
NTD NewsChinese, Russian Code Found in US Military Apps; Taiwan President Calls to Resist China’s ‘Red Terror’
A new security concern for U.S. troops: Computer code from Chinese and Russian companies was found in apps made for people serving in the U.S. military. What researchers found could put sensitive information and people’s safety at risk. A call to resist pressure from China—Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te urged members of his party to oppose the “red terror” coming from Beijing. Taiwan sees a diplomatic setback as the Pacific island nation of Pa…
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