Strava’s fitness heatmaps are a 'potential catastrophe'
The 2018 cybersecurity race to the bottom is off to an exciting start. First out of the gate is Strava — now widely known as the " social network for athletes " -- and its reckless data-visualization "heat map" gimmick that revealed details of secret military bases around the world . It was the kind of incident deserving of a plot line in a ridiculous Hollywood drama. And yet, here we are, with Twitter and the whole world discussing and dissecting fitness routes of soldiers and agents in sensitive locations, such as American bases in Afghanistan and Syria, a possible secret CIA base in Somalia, military facilities in war zones and much more . I'm not sure how many times we need to go through this. The trifecta parable of confusing privacy settings, post-publication safety considerations, and the requirement of major headlines for companies to give a shit. It's as if the makers of Strava and its ilk are living in a completely different internet. Let...