US troops warned against using dating apps amid 'psychological influence' campaign

The U.S. Navy has sounded the alarm in an urgent warning for sailors and their families to secure their social media as the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran has prompted an increase in online threats, according to reports on Monday.

In an unclassified memo, Secretary John Phelan told Navy personnel that “adversary cyber actors” were looking to “psychologically influence” service members, potentially using their family members to coerce them into opening potentially malicious links and files, The Hill reported.

“In response to Operation EPIC FURY, adversary cyber actors are conducting a social engineering campaign actively targeting Department of the Navy (DON) personnel and their families via spear phishing and social media contacts,” according to the memo from April 17.

Sailors were urged to scrub their personal information on Google and other search engines, and turn off location tracking, microphone and camera on their cellphones.

Service members were also warned to "beware of dating or other apps that encourage or require the use/sharing of personal information" and be careful of any potential strangers who contact them. Officials also recommended sailors change their account settings on social media to the "highest level" of privacy.