IDF transport app for soldiers raises security, privacy concerns

A mobile app currently being rolled out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) allows the government to pay less for the transportation of its soldiers by tracking their exact mileage and locations. 

Israeli soldiers ride public transportation for free and, until last week, they would simply show their military ID to the driver or transit authority upon alighting. But on Wednesday, the IDF is now requiring soldiers to use the Zuzu app when they travel, which they use to scan a barcode on the bus or train and enter their destination. The IDF tracks the soldiers’ locations and only pays per trip rather than a lump sum to the transit companies. 

“The use of the Zuzu app allows for financial savings of hundreds of millions of shekels, and the money saved will be transferred to benefit the transportation system and a comprehensive solution for the soldiers who fight and serve in distant bases,” says the IDF Technology and Logistics Division on its website. 

“That is, instead of a fixed and global payment...we will make a per-trip payment through the app, which will support and enable the new transportation plan of the Technology and Logistics Division.” 

But a feature of the app is that it tracks the location and mileage of the soldiers, which the IDF assures is not a security concern. 

“The location of the departure and arrival are the only data collected from the device, in order to calculate the price of your trip, depending on the distance you traveled.” 

“Trust us that the widget has passed information security certificates, and that there is no fear of using it,” added the Technology and Logistics Division. 

But even if the app, which can be downloaded on the App Store or Google Play, is impenetrable to attacks from Israel’s enemies, it still raises questions about privacy rights. 

“In the wish to move fast and efficiently (zuzu), the IDF is demanding its soldiers reveal their position when traveling on public transportation,” Col. Orly Dari-Yaron told America’s Frontline News. “Their consent was never asked. This is one more step in the decline of the right to privacy of those who don’t have the funds and need to rely on public services, a right that should have been sacred to all.” 

Col. Dari-Yaron served in the IDF for 26 years, spending 17 of them as a judge and president of the military court. She currently works as an attorney. 

Dari-Yaron says she believes the IDF is well-intentioned and does not have plans to misuse the app’s tracking feature. But she also fears that this may be the beginning of a slippery slope, where the tracking technology will eventually be used beyond the scope of transportation.  

“This eye watching you, accompanying you everywhere – it will diminish your sense of freedom even if you’re not doing anything wrong,” she says. “Like a child hearing his parent’s criticism in his head.” 

“In the quick modern world we have lost the true meaning of privacy,” she added. “Privacy is not a secret kept inside from fear of punishment, rather the wish to keep the delicacy of new born feeling, thought or experience to one’s self, in an attempt to keep them sacred.”