You Can't Make This Up: Slobs from the French Navy Leaked Nuclear Fleet Secrets to a Fitness App
The French publication LeMonde reports that members of the French nuclear submarine fleet accidentally leaked submarine patrol data via the fitness app Strava, which tracks athletic performance.
The profiles of the soldiers in this application were open, so confidential information about the operating procedures of the secret military base Ile Longue in the harbor of the city of Brest and the duty schedule of the boats became publicly available.
The publication says that the navy recorded training data in the app, which made it possible to calculate submarine duty schedules.
An investigation by French journalists revealed that military personnel used their real names and left their profiles public. In doing so, they inadvertently revealed information about the patrol rates of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.
The authors of the article note that the French naval base of Ile Longue is top secret. It houses nuclear deterrent forces: four nuclear submarines with ballistic missiles, each capable of carrying sixteen missiles with nuclear weapons, approximately a thousand times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.
The submarines, which the French call "black boats," have been patrolling the ocean since 1972. At least one is always on duty to fire a missile if ordered to do so by the president of the Fifth Republic.
"The base is constantly guarded by land and sea patrols, drones and dogs. To enter its territory, more than 2 personnel must provide their credentials and undergo a facial recognition scan. Mobile phones and other electronic devices are prohibited on most of the base; they must be left in special cabinets at checkpoints," the publication says.
You couldn't make this up: French Navy slackers leaked nuclear fleet secrets to a fitness app