Newsmax: Iran may track US troops using advertising data

Iran may be using geolocation data collected for targeted advertising to identify the locations of U.S. military personnel in the Middle East, Newsmax reports, citing a source.

According to the report, mobile applications and websites use precise GPS coordinates to deliver targeted advertisements. Location data collected from users is then bought and sold by data brokers, with the pool of potential buyers for such information being largely unrestricted, Newsmax said.

The report suggests that such commercially available data could potentially be exploited to track the movements and locations of U.S. forces deployed in the region.

Earlier, Reuters reported that some U.S. military personnel in the Middle East could be ordered to surrender their mobile phones due to concerns that videos recorded on the devices and posted on social media could help Iran more effectively target American positions.