Or not.

For facilities where this actually matters, controls are put in place to try and prevent that type of thing. You aren't actually allowed to bring an Apple Watch into a SCIF, and there are processes in place to try to screen to prevent you from doing that.

If there was a "secret base" that didn't screen for people bringing outside devices it's likely because they didn't think that someone listening in on the conversations happening inside the base, or being able to use external devices to locate the base was big enough of a threat to warrant the hassle of adding screening.

You can't actually implement app blacklists and packet inspections for a wireless device you don't control. And if you want to prohibit people from having and using devices you don't control in specific locations, you implement controls to prevent that from happening.

If you allow sailors or soldiers to have personal electronic devices in the first place, you've already accepted the risks they represent.

This really is a non issue.

For example, the fact that devices with wireless radios, microphones, and cameras with both hardware and software of unknown provenance are allowed on an aircraft carrier are much bigger security risks than the fact that the device was using an exercise tracking app. There's much, much, much, much more valuable information on an aircraft carrier that could be compromised by these devices than the boat's location (which is not really secret).

I'm willing to make a bet that the Captian of the Aircraft Carrier and the Admiral commanding the strike group prefer the fitness benefits their sailors get from having such devices / apps then they do from the security risks they represented.

If the risk was real enough... the devices wouldn't be allowed on the boat in the first place.

This just seems like people overreacting to what is really a non event.

> This is the modern way to die of stupidity

With how bad the human experiment generally is, I rejoice in the fact that our own stupidity will be our undoing. Imagine if we did things correctly.

No amount of OPSEC lectures or packet inspection is going to sufficiently keep the carrier's private information private. There's thousands of sailors on these things. When details like its location and readiness level actually need to be secret, all regular internet access should just be cut off. Radio silence. I assume this person had internet access to use Strava because the carrier isn't yet in some higher level of readiness and its location isn't yet considered much of a secret.

You are correct

Any system that is based on the perfection of humans is doom from the start ..

A jammer is easy and very effective, you can even use it at home to piss off your neighbor, so I guess the army can do it too;

Yep. A full moat is the only sure way, and indeed, the OPSEC lectures and even pre-announced severe punishments will never be 100% — there is always some idiot who thinks he is special and rationalizes it in his head. Allowing traffic to only a small pre-vetted whitelist of sites works only until someone fires up a VPN, which again, no amount of lectures & punishments will prevent.