Pentagon’s wireless services left locations, data exposed, watchdog finds – Task & Purpose

Pentagon’s wireless services left locations, data exposed, watchdog finds  Task & Purpose

An inspector general report found vulnerabilities with a large military wireless contract left locations and personnel open to being tracked. The Department of Defense failed to fully secure unclassified wireless communications, allowing sensitive data including locations of troops and command facilities vulnerable to be exposed, the Pentagon’s watchdog found. A new report from the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General found that although the department had taken steps to protect some communications under a major wireless telecommunications contract, it failed to vet carriers’ security measures. As a result, that left metadata intact, such as when messages were sent and from where, allowing locations to be pinpointed. The Office of Inspector General initiated the investigation following a late 2024 letter from Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo), which warned of vulnerabilities in Department of Defense devices that put them at risk of foreign espionage groups.

The objective was to see if the Defense Department “had capabilities to secure its unclassified wireless communications” procured through its Wireless Mobility Services, or Spiral 4, contract. The subject was the Pentagon’s massive Spiral 4 contract, which as of January 2026, the IG said, has more than 568,000 service lines for phones, tablets and other devices. The military did enact security measures for voice and email communications, but did not do so for