Sat, Dec 19, 2009
Insurgents Intercepted Video Feed From Aircraft
Insurgents using an inexpensive commercial off-the-shelf
(COTS) software package have reportedly intercepted video
feeds from U.S. military drones, potentially giving them
information about military operations. The hack could allow the bad
guys to evade coalition forces.
"The Wall Street Journal" reports that the program, called
"Skygrabber", allowed insurgents, possibly with Iranian backing, to
intercept the video from Predator UAVs being sent via an
unencrypted link in remote areas of Iraq. An unnamed source with
knowledge of the matter said the insurgents were not able to take
control of the aircraft, or disrupt their flight, but that the hack
could remove the element of surprise from some missions, and give
insurgents information about which areas and roadways are being
watched.
The problem was actually discovered in late 2008, when U.S.
military forces captured a Shiite militant who had literally days
worth of captured UAS video on his laptop computer. The discovery
of additional video in July led U.S. officials to belive the
militants were being funded by Iran.
The Pentagon has known about the potential vulnerability of the
unencrypted links between UAVs and ground stations since the
Bosnian campaign in the 1990's, but assumed that militants were
unable to capture the information. One of the Russian designers of
the software told the paper he created it to capture free music and
video content online, and did not intend for it to have a military
purpose.
Military officials say no U.S. service personnel have been
injured or killed due to this security breech. Meanwhile, the
Pentagon reportedly working towards encrypting all of its video
feeds from Unmanned Aerial Systems, but it is not known whether the
security hole has been closed.
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