[CharlesColeman]

> What makes Grindr special in this regard ? I’m sure there are other dating or social apps out there that also could be foreign owned and used for espionage....???

select opm.name, opm.address

from opm_security_clearance_files opm

join grindr_users grinder

where grinder.phone_number = opm.phone_number

and opm.clearance in ('SECRET', 'TOP SECRET', 'SCI');

If any of those people are in the closet, they could be susceptible to blackmail.

[yorwba]

Replace grindr by some_other_site where some_other_site.orientation != 'straight' or some_other_site.fetish in (...) and it works out to the same result, no?

[rndgermandude]

Kinda but probably not really.

Grindr is mostly used for semi-anonymous "hookups" - I am told anecdotally by people who used it and by the media at large - which is something even out and proud people might not wish the world to know (e.g. because their spouse might disprove), especially not in harsh detail. A lot of the communication on grindr ought to be pretty explicit too given how it gets used, something you might not want to see made public either, even if you're out of the closet already.

Now the other theoretical site might be as "bad" or even more so as grindr (the fetish website you suggested), or it might be a "tame" website used mostly in a "tame" manner, which of course still has "potential" to a blackmailer, but less so than the grindrs, tinders, backpages, adultfriendfrinders, etc of this world.

[CharlesColeman]

Yeah, definitely. I think it's arguable the same rational could even apply to a dating site for straight people. It would take a little more work and probably be less fruitful overall, but an adversary's intelligence agency could use it identify straight people (with security clearances) who may be trying to cheat on their spouses or whose marriage is disintegrating. Both of those situations could open someone up to manipulation (a honey trap [1], for instance).

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recruitment_of_spies#Love,_hon...

[azinman2]

Knowing someone is gay is a classic blackmail situation, particularly within the gov world. Grindr is very sexually charged, so you get the most extreme sensitive bits here, combined with high profile people that are closeted and don’t want this information leaked. Not the same situation.

[Macross8299]

+1

Simple explanation that likely explains the security panel's reasoning behind their statements.

Also explains why a phone number as an identity token is a horrible idea.

[Redoubts]

> where grinder.phone_number = opm.phone_number

why would grindr have that? Hell, they dont even validate the random string you can put in the email field

[MockObject]

This is exactly what came to mind when the OPM and Ashley Madison hacks occurred.