Data Brokers Threaten National Security & Personal Privacy
How Data Brokers Threaten National Security—and Put Government Personnel at Risk
Data brokers quietly gather and sell personal information. That data is often detailed, sensitive, and available to anyone willing to pay. Foreign governments are buying it. So are other malicious actors. This puts U.S. national security—and the safety of government and military personnel—at risk.
What Data Brokers Actually Do
Data brokers collect and sell your personal information. They gather it from app activity, location tracking, social media, public records, and online purchases. Over time, they build detailed profiles: where you go, what you spend, who you know, and more. This data often ends up in the hands of people it was never meant for—an issue that was explored in the FTC’s 2014 report.
How That Data Becomes a National Security Problem
The risk isn’t just personal—it’s national. According to a 2023 U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee report, foreign governments like China and Russia have used commercial data broker platforms to gather intelligence. One major example came in 2018 when The New York Times reported that fitness app Strava’s global heatmap revealed sensitive movement patterns at U.S. military installations.
It Enables Cyberattacks
Hackers use this information to create highly convincing phishing emails. In 2015, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management experienced a major breach in which records of 22 million federal employees were exposed. Similarly, the FTC’s case against Equifax in 2019 detailed how the data of 147 million Americans was compromised.
It Fuels Disinformation
During the 2016 U.S. elections, Russia’s Internet Research Agency used highly targeted social media ads to influence voters. The role of commercial data in that targeting was documented in the Senate’s 2019 report.
Why Government Personnel Are Especially at Risk
Blackmail
Profiles sold by data brokers often contain deeply personal information—details about debt, health issues, and relationships. This makes government employees especially vulnerable to coercion. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace outlined these risks in their 2021 report.
Real-World Threats
Brokers sell names, home addresses, and contact details. In 2020, a Washington Post article reported that a gunman targeted a federal judge’s family using publicly available personal information.
Exposure of Operations
Apps like Strava and Polar Flow have exposed classified military locations. In 2018, Bellingcat demonstrated how easy it was to track personnel movements and map secret bases using Polar’s data.
What’s the Government Doing?
Executive Action
In early 2024, President Biden signed an executive order banning the sale of Americans’ sensitive personal data to “countries of concern.”
Congressional Action
Congress passed the Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024.
Regulatory Proposals
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has proposed new rules under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to bring greater transparency and oversight to data broker practices.
What Needs to Happen Next
Despite these developments, the U.S. still lacks a federal consumer privacy law. Agencies like the FTC need stronger enforcement powers. Government personnel need better digital hygiene training. And international data transfers must be regulated.
What You Can Do
You shouldn’t have to wonder where your personal data ends up. Tools like mePrism Privacy can help you discover who has your data, request removal from brokers, monitor progress in real time, and reduce your exposure to silent threats. This is how to protect your personal data from brokers—by taking back control of your information before it becomes someone else’s weapon. When your privacy is compromised, so is your security. Take back control.
Ready to try mePrism yourself?
At mePrism, we help you take back control of your personal data. Our service scans the web for your exposed personal information—like your name, address, and contact details—and removes it from data broker sites that sell it without your consent. Whether you're protecting your privacy, reducing spam, or guarding against identity theft, we make the process simple, secure, and effective. Ready to clean up your online footprint?
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