Israel could potentially use data collected by Waze to track the movements of Malaysian security personnel and high-profile individuals, with location records potentially revealing their daily routines, a security expert has warned.
Malaysian Institute of Governance, Integrity and Transparency Management (MiGET) adviser Major-General (Rtd) Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Abd Hamid said continuously collected location data could be analysed using a method known as Pattern-of-Life (POL) Intelligence to identify travel habits, frequently visited places and changes in activity.
“The threat is not limited to users’ location information. It becomes more serious when geospatial data is combined with information from other intelligence sources,” he said.
Through a process known as Intelligence Fusion, he said, information from multiple sources could be combined to build a more complete picture of a target’s whereabouts, activities, movements and daily patterns.
Radzi, a former director-general of the Armed Forces Future Forces Secretariat, said GPS data, travel history, destinations, internet protocol (IP) addresses and device information could collectively reveal a person’s routine if gathered and analysed over time.
He warned that senior military officers, national leaders and intelligence officers could become targets if their movement patterns were identified through such data.
“For example, a senior military officer or national leader may use Waze daily to travel from home to the office, attend meetings or visit certain locations.
“If that data is collected continuously and accessed by unauthorised parties, a movement pattern could eventually be identified,” he said.
However, Radzi stressed that it remained unclear to what extent Israel or parties linked to it had used Waze data for intelligence purposes.
He said the issue should be assessed from a national security perspective, particularly because leaks of geospatial information could threaten Malaysia’s data sovereignty.
Radzi said the importance of safeguarding the country’s geospatial information had been recognised during his involvement in developing the National Geospatial Defence Doctrine in 2016, when he was serving as Army Doctrine director.
He added that the concern had also been raised with the National Cyber Centre in 2000, before Waze was created.
In modern warfare, he said, a person’s location and movements could become valuable intelligence when combined with satellite imagery, communications data and publicly available information.
The integration of imagery intelligence (IMINT), signals intelligence (SIGINT) and open-source intelligence (OSINT) could produce Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT), providing a more comprehensive picture of a target, he added.
Radzi described the ban on civil servants using Waze as a possible preventive measure, but said a broader risk assessment should also examine other applications that collect location data.
“I am viewing this government directive from a national security standpoint, and not merely because Waze originated from Israel,” he said.
He warned that similar risks should be assessed for other mapping applications, fitness apps, smartwatches and food delivery services that use location data.
“Malaysia needs to strengthen its digital and geospatial data sovereignty to ensure information vital to national security is protected from unauthorised access or exploitation,” he said.
