The Guardian reported today that Palestinian militants are utilizing Google Earth to target and plan attacks on Israel.  "We obtain the details from Google Earth and check them against our maps of the city centre and sensitive areas," said Khaled Jaabari of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the commander in Gaza known as Abu Walid. 

Google Earth’s satellite images are updated infrequently, meaning moving targets have little benefit.  But according to defense experts, the amount of accessible information poses serious threats. 

"There is a constant threat of reconnaissance missions to access our bases and using these internet images is just another method of how this is conducted," said British military spokesman Major Charlie Burbridge earlier this year.

In response to questions about the use of the application by militants, Google responded with a statement: "We have paid close attention to concerns that Google Earth creates new security risks.  The imagery visible on Google Earth and Google Maps is not unique: commercial high-resolution satellite and aerial imagery of every country in the world is widely available from numerous sources. Indeed, anyone who flies above or drives by a piece of property can obtain similar information."

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Read the article in The Guardian here