There is a picture of the life of the average soldier in the data sets.
According to a recent report from Duke University researchers, data brokers sold sensitive information about US military personnel. The study, which was mostly about national security, found that very specific personal information about soldiers, veterans, and their families can be bought for $0.12 to $0.32 per record.
Through the.org and.asia domains, researchers were able to get a lot of information, including private health and financial data. The brokers also sold a lot of information to people who were geofenced in by major U.S. military bases.
The people who wrote the report were able to buy information about certain conditions that affect US military personnel, like Alzheimer's, trouble controlling their bladders, and hearing issues.
The following types of data were bought for research purposes:
name, home address, email address, phone number, number of children in the family, expected age of children, family status, health, finances, and religion information.
In some of the data sets, there was a column called "casino." The team couldn't figure out what it meant, but they thought it might have something to do with gambling history. Researchers didn't buy the soldiers' phone location data, but many data brokers did. They also sold their web search history.
In response to the issue, the US Senate introduced a bill to prevent countries that are at odds with the US from using American data. Instead of useless band-aids like the TikTok ban, the senators stressed the need for a long-term plan to keep data safe from hostile states.
Researchers have raised concerns about the lack of proper regulation in the industry and the possibility that the data could be used to blackmail or spy on military personnel. Senta wants Congress to do something because he thinks that trading data needs more oversight for the sake of national security.
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