Google Maps, stop traffic in real time in Ukraine

Google Maps

Modern warfare can boast technologically advanced weapons and tools, but sometimes even the technology we use every day can make a difference: this is the case of Google Maps, probably the most widespread among navigation apps and capable of providing information on the state. traffic in real time. This particular function has been turned off by Google in Ukraine, so as not to provide information on any groupings of people and / or vehicles in strategic points.

The Google Maps feature is based on the collection of anonymous data via smartphones Android, in order to provide the user with real-time traffic information: today the roads of Ukraine will no longer be classified with the colors red, orange or green depending on the level of traffic recorded, so as not to give any information to the enemy on the state of the defenses.

According @googlemaps, there is a "traffic jam" at 3:15 in the morning on the road from Belgorod, Russia to the Ukrainian border. It starts * exactly * where we saw a Russian formation of armor and IFV / APCs show up yesterday.

Someone's on the move. pic.twitter.com/BYyc5YZsWL

- Dr. Jeffrey Lewis (@ArmsControlWonk) February 24, 2022



A prime example of how Google Maps can provide key information in We have situations like this thanks to a Twitter post published by Jeffrey Lewis, an intelligence expert: on the night of February 24, before the invasion began, Dr. Lewis noticed an anomalous level of traffic on a road near the border between Russia and Ukraine, a sufficiently strange finding given the area and time, but the meaning of that traffic was quickly understood.

“We are were among the first to know about the invasion, and we discovered it thanks to a traffic application "

if (jQuery ("# ​​crm_srl-th_motorlabs_d_mh2_1"). is (": visible")) {console.log ("Edinet ADV adding zone: tag crm_srl-th_motorlabs_d_mh2_1 slot id: th_motorlabs_d_mh2"); } To clarify, in a second tweet, Dr. Lewis wanted to specify that the traffic data came from civilians in the area who were stuck at roadside controls, and not directly from the soldiers' smartphones.



Google Maps continues to function normally for as regards navigation, but no longer provides traffic information on Ukrainian territory; It is perhaps the first time that a giant like Google has become involved in a war conflict, but after all the news regarding the involvement of large corporations - such as Starlink which is providing satellite internet signal to the country - are continuing at a good pace these days. .

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How did Google Maps' traffic data become a tool for the Ukraine war?

In the light of the Russian invasion, Google has temporarily disabled global access to traffic data from Ukraine. This move is aimed at protecting the citizens of Ukraine since it prevents outsiders from knowing which routes have civilian movement, The Verge reported. 

With the proliferation of technology, intelligence gathering is no longer limited to specialized military equipment and missions. A programmer working from a basement can gather can also gather much intel by sifting through data available in the public domain. This isn't just a hypothetical scenario but an event that actually came to pass in a research lab in California, hours before Russian troops invaded Ukraine. 

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Predicting Putin's Play

Jeffery Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, and his team of researchers had been monitoring data from Google Maps in Russia last week when they spotted a traffic jam in the early hours of Thursday morning. The traffic was at Belgorod, 25 miles north of the Ukrainian Border and exactly at the same spot where the team of researchers had spotted a large Russian military unit using radar, a day earlier. 

Speaking to Business Insider, Lewis said that the jam was unusual for early hours in the morning and the Russian troops hadn't camped at the site. Instead, they were lined up along the roads, which is characteristic of a unit ready to attack. 

Lewis's team saw the traffic jam move southwards confirming that the troops were moving towards Ukraine, hours before the public announcement Vladimir Putin made at 6 am local time. 

The data for Google's Maps application comes from anonymized location data from users of its Android operating system. It wasn't that Russian troops were invading with Android phones in their pockets but it was the effect of those Android users in the region who were stopped in their tracks as the military convoy moved southward. 

The Big Data

Lewis pointed out to Motherboard last week that big data companies are not ready to accept how much information can be gleaned through the data they capture. The Verge pointed to an instance from 2017 when a map of user activity was released by tracking app Strava that ended up revealing the location of military bases in the U.S. 

However, the shutting of global access to Ukrainian traffic data is surely an informal acceptance of the fact. If Lewis and his team could predict the Russian movement, it is likely that Russians are also tapping into data to spot where Ukrainian civilians are. 

Following the invasion, Google Maps data also showed routes Ukrainians took to flee the capital city of Kyiv, which came under siege a day later. Roads outside the city were either clogged or blocked by the authorities, Business Insider reported. 

What about users in the country?

While announcing the changes, Google has revealed that the feature would not impact users inside Ukraine. All those using turn-by-turn navigational data in the country would still be able to see live traffic information and make their choices of routes. The decision has not been taken unilaterally but after due consultation with government officials in Ukraine.