In the USA, the Secret Service is responsible for protecting presidents.
What: AP
According to a report in the newspaper “Le Monde”, bodyguards of French President Emmanuel Macron are endangering his safety because they use a publicly visible running app and use it to announce the president’s whereabouts. The security forces are said to have used the sports app “Strava” and used it to publicly track jogging laps completed during business operations, including the start and finish points as well as the route.
Since the security forces are often on site a few days before a trip abroad, in ten cases it was possible to identify the hotel in which Macron was staying, which was actually kept secret. So they set off for a jog from the corresponding posh hotel. This suggested that Macron was being billeted there. The newspaper claims to have tracked a total of 100 trips by French Presidents François Hollande and Macron between 2016 and 2024 in this way.
French President Macron is currently on a three-day state visit to Morocco.October 29, 2024 | 0:21 min
Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin were also affected
Le Monde identified a total of 26 US agents, 12 members of the French security group GSPR and six members of the Russian security service FSO who had public accounts on Strava.
In one case, Le Monde was able to find out from the bodyguards’ jogging data that Emmanuel Macron spent a private weekend in the city of Honfleur in 2021. In another example, the Strava profile of a US intelligence officer revealed the location of a hotel where US President Joe Biden stayed in San Francisco when he held high-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2023. “Le Monde” reported that security personnel for Russian President Vladimir Putin also used Strava. Bodyguards for Melania Trump and Jill Biden also resorted to it.The Secret Service admitted communication problems after the assassination attempt on former President Trump. In July, a gunman shot Trump at a campaign event.09/21/2024 | 0:23 min
Élysée Palace does not see presidents at risk
Some of the bodyguards can be found on the social sports network with their full names and photos of family members. This makes them and the security net around the heads of state vulnerable, reported “Le Monde”.
The Elysee Palace told the newspaper that the use of the sports app by some bodyguards had little impact and did not endanger the president’s safety in any way. The movements of the bodyguards abroad can not only be tracked using the app, local authorities, embassies and ministries are also informed about all steps and processes. The bodyguards’ use of social media is also monitored.
US Secret Service employees are said to have used the app
The US secret service also does not believe that there were any serious security gaps. The report by “Le Monde” stated that secret service employees continued to use the app in the weeks after the assassination attempts on ex-President Donald Trump.
According to the Secret Service, employees are prohibited from using personal electronic devices while on duty. However, private use of social media outside of work is not prohibited. The affected staff have been notified and they will check whether further steps are necessary, it said. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’ teams initially declined to comment.The Secret Service was responsible for Trump’s security, said ZDF correspondent Theveßen about the assassination attempt on the ex-president. Jul 14, 2024 | 3:15 minutes
The fitness app “Strava” came under criticism in 2018
It is not the first time that the fitness app has come under criticism. At the beginning of 2018, “Strava” published activity maps showing where users exercised and how much – thereby revealing possible US military bases in Iraq and Syria. The US armed forces then launched an investigation and banned soldiers in operational areas from using fitness data trackers and smartphone apps that can reveal location data.
The Bundeswehr also warned at the time of a threat to security through the use of smartphones and other modern means of communication.
ZDFheute on WhatsApp
Source: ZDF
Do you always want to stay up to date? Then you’ve come to the right place with our ZDFheute WhatsApp channel. Whether it’s for coffee in the morning, for lunch or at the end of the day – you’ll get it the most important news directly to your smartphone. Take part in surveys or be inspired by our mini-podcast “Short Time Out”. Simply register for our WhatsApp channel here: ZDFheute-WhatsApp-Channel.
Source: AP, dpa, AFP
