An investigation revealed that Swedish bodyguards using the Strava app inadvertently disclosed sensitive locations related to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and the royal family, raising significant security concerns.
Security Breach: Fitness App Uncovers Locations of Swedish Leaders
Security Breach: Fitness App Uncovers Locations of Swedish Leaders
Bodyguards inadvertently expose secure locations of Prime Minister and royal family through Strava fitness app.
In a surprising turn of events, Sweden's commitment to national security faces scrutiny as bodyguards for its prominent leaders misstep with fitness tracking. An investigative report has uncovered that these security personnel, in their efforts to maintain physical fitness, shared their running and cycling routes on Strava—a popular fitness app known for mapping and sharing user activities.
This app, typically used for personal fitness tracking, became a double-edged sword when it inadvertently revealed private locations and movements of high-profile figures in Sweden, including Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and members of the royal family. The revelations come in light of increasing security threats, following recent sabotage incidents targeting Sweden’s infrastructural assets, particularly undersea cables.
According to the Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter, an analysis of over 1,400 workouts uploaded by seven bodyguards over the past year mapped training runs not only in common locales but also in sensitive areas such as the Alps, near Ukraine's border, and at a military base in Mali. Alarmingly, this data pinpointed the exact location of the Prime Minister’s private residence and even detailed an October vacation he took with his wife.
While Prime Minister Kristersson, a keen runner, has refrained from sharing his routes on the app, the shared data from his bodyguards created a clear path to his preferred running locations. The Strava information has also uncovered previously undisclosed meetings, such as a high-profile conference in Norway involving Kristersson and the leaders of Norway and Finland.
The breach extends to other prominent politicians, including former Prime Ministers and leaders from various parties. One notable incident includes a bodyguard’s run along a beachfront in Tel Aviv, which coincided with a previously unannounced visit by Jimmie Akesson, the head of the Sweden Democrats.
As these revelations pose major questions for security protocols surrounding elected officials, the Prime Minister’s office has chosen not to comment on specific security matters, heightening the urgency of addressing the potential vulnerabilities introduced by fitness tracking technology.
