Posts tagged surveillance

Mapping More Than Miles: Strava and the Age of Open-Source Intelligence

In 2017, when the popular fitness app Strava released its Global Heatmap, at first, it seemed like a harmless engagement feature, perhaps a sort of Spotify Wrapped for runners. However, one observant Australian college student was the first to point out there might be more at play. Sure enough, analysts and academics soon confirmed that Strava’s gold mine of data posed an overlooked security risk, carrying implications far more consequential than exposing the most underrated running trail in town.

OpinionsGrace JiangOctober 26, 2025privacy, global security, intelligence, data, operational security, data privacy, surveillance, national security, open source intelligence, Strava, map

In Defense of Political Economy Analysis: What “Following the Money” Reveals About the Role of Surveillance in Europe’s Migration Policy

Europe's securitized migration policies stem from post-Cold War defense industries' economic strategies, while its border externalization practices, including selling surveillance tech to authoritarian regimes, expose the profit-driven motives behind its migration management, challenging the prevailing "European liberal order" narrative.