Personal data of U.S. military personnel for sale online, Duke study says
A new study from Duke University says the personal information of U.S. military personnel is for sale on the Internet.
According to the study, the team of researchers found it was possible to buy data from U.S. data brokers via a .org and a .asia domain for as low as $0.12 per record. The information for sale included the health conditions and home addresses of some service members.
The research team said it did not purchase location data during its study, but researchers said they were able to shop for data on service members based on the geographic location of active service members.
“Access to this data could be used by foreign and malicious actors to target active-duty military personnel, veterans, and their families and acquaintances for profiling, blackmail, targeting with information campaigns, and more,” the study said.
In June, an NC State researcher said loopholes in a fitness app could reveal user addresses.
An army officer spoke with WRAL News and said a hack of the Office of Personnel Management in 2014 compromised a significant amount of data and foreign actors use social media platforms like TikTok to look for places of vulnerability within the military.
In January, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed an order banning the use of TikTok and WeChat from state devices following a similar ban from the United State Congress.
The officer added that while the military provides awareness on security breaches and does not leave their personnel to fend for themselves, much of the onus falls on the solider to protect their personal information from ending up in the wrong places.
The officer also said he was speaking from personal experience and not on behalf of the Army or on policy.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) called the study “A sobering wake-up call for policymakers that the data broker industry is out of control and poses a serious threat to U.S. national security.”
WRAL News has reached out to Fort Liberty for comment on the study but has yet to hear back.
