Federal Government Information Technology

Pentagon Reviewing Electronic Device Policy

Nextgov: The Pentagon is reconsidering its policies for every personal electronic device that “transmits a two-way signal” in an effort to increase the security of its employees, an agency spokeswoman told Nextgov.

On Wednesday, CNN reported Defense Secretary James Mattis is considering banning the Pentagon’s 23,000 civilian and military personnel from bringing cellphones into the facility. Though she wouldn’t confirm the statement to Nextgov, Defense spokeswoman Maj. Audricia Harris said agency leaders are reviewing the rules for “all electronic devices.”

The report comes after the fitness-tracking app Strava compiled its users’ location data in a global heatmap and inadvertently revealed the locations of multiple overseas military bases. The software also makes public the identities and locations of international aid workers, intelligence operatives and military personnel, raising security concerns among government officials.

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