French aircraft carrier location exposed by sailor’s Strava activity

France's aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was inadvertently tracked in real time via a sailor's activity on the Strava app, revealing a persistent operational security flaw. The sailor's public profile exposed the vessel's location in the Mediterranean Sea near Cyprus and Turkey, as reported by Security Affairs.

A French naval officer, identified only as Arthur, used his smartwatch to record a 7-kilometer run on the deck of the Charles de Gaulle. The data was uploaded to his public Strava profile, which allowed for the near real-time tracking of the aircraft carrier. This incident occurred on March 13, despite previous warnings about the risks associated with fitness tracking apps revealing sensitive military locations. The aircraft carrier had been deployed by President Emmanuel Macron on March 3.

Source: Security Affairs