Submarines. Does the StravaLeaks affair have repercussions at the Cherbourg base and at Naval Group?

StravaLeaks? So what is it? This is a new affair, recently revealed by the newspaper The World. Several members of the crews of the four nuclear ballistic missile submarines based on Île Longue, in the harbor of Brest (Finistère), would have unwittingly revealed the schedule of SSBN patrols, due to their use of the running app Strava.

If it has yet to be proven that this data offers a strategic advantage to “ill-intentioned” forces (Editor's note: SSBN departures are often easily identifiable), these “leaks” are, in any case, bad news so that the Brest site wants to be the most secret in France and that the Triomphant class submarines are one of the vectors of nuclear deterrence.

While the 2,000 people working on Long Island must show white paw and that phones and other electronic devices are prohibited on a large part of the base, connected watches have therefore just played a nasty trick on the French army determined to erase this loophole as quickly as possible.

This motivation will also extend beyond Brest’s borders. In Cherbourg (Manche)the “sensitive site” side is also not overused, between the naval base, the Naval Group shipyard or the DME (launching device), controlled by the DGA (Directorate General of Armaments).

“Not of the same security and strategic order in Cherbourg”

On the naval base side, the matter is, in any case, taken seriously by the authorities.

It's a real subject. Even if the risks of identification or monitoring of the activity of personnel from the Ministry of the Armed Forces within the Cherbourg naval base are indeed not of the same security and strategic order as on the Île Longue site, where assigned to operational deterrence units. Most of the operational activity of the Cherbourg naval base is, in fact, devoted on the one hand to the public service missions of State action at sea (AEM), such as assistance and rescue. at sea, and on the other hand to support the industrial activities of the DGA.

Messages have, in any case, been passed in order to (re)raise staff on the issue.

“The use of connected applications in the context of sporting activities has indeed been commented on, explained and staff were alerted to limit these uses. Reminders are therefore regularly carried out to raise awareness among personnel on the use of connected objects as well as the risks they pose to the security and confidentiality of activities and respect for the anonymity of soldiers.

A few meters away, at Naval Group, same refrain. If we are not specifically targeted by the StravaLeaks affair, we don't joke about security issues. Particularly regarding anonymity.

Latest example, the industrialist's request to its employees not to include their last name during the last strides of La Presse de la Manche.

One more measure to secure a site and employees who are preparing to build the brand new generation of SSBNs, the largest submarines ever built in Francewhich will be based in the coming decades… on Île Longue.

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