As large-scale defense legislation continues to make its way through both chambers of Congress, a CEO and former U.S. Army Green Beret warns of a less widely discussed provision that could have major implications on national defense and the safety of military personnel. Erik Wittreich, CEO of the multi-domain technology company Veilant, told Military.com that a provision currently encapsulated within the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) called ubiquitous technical surveillance (UTS) poses risks to service members and, more broadly, military readiness as the collection of commercially available data from phones, apps and other technologies could be leveraged by adversaries. His concerns mirror those of some lawmakers, notably Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), who has led within Congress on the issue and has called on the Department of Defense to appoint an official responsible for overseeing UTS issues. "I think it's the new terrain," Wittreich said. "It's an operational terrain that we have to contemplate as we're moving people, conducting operations, building facilities, etc. UTS, it's this persistent, networked, commercially-enabled tracking of all things—of people, of technology, etc. "Most of it's facilitated by ad tech and marketing tech, where users of technology are opting into sharing their digital footprint with the world." It's an issue encompassing more than the military, he noted. Whether one has the Waze app on their phone for purposes of maps and directions, or uses ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft, people across the country and world are actively participating in sharing their locations.