Posted on 12/17/2009 8:55:10 AM PST by mgstarr
We can't say we've ever heard of a $26 Russian program called SkyGrabber before, but it's about to get famous real fast -- according to the Wall Street Journal, Iraqi insurgents have been regularly using the satellite-snooping software to monitor live Predator video feeds. Apparently the Predator transmits video over an unencrypted link, so there's no major hacking or security breach going on here, but it's obviously a huge issue -- and we'd say the bigger problem is that Pentagon officials have known about this flaw since the 1990s, but they didn't think insurgents would figure out how to exploit it. Way to underestimate, guys. The WSJ says the military is working to encrypt all Predator feeds from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, but it's slow going because the Predator network is more than a decade old and based on proprietary tech -- too bad it's not proprietary enough to keep prying eyes out of it.
it's not a good thing, by any means, but certainly not crippling.
Link appears to be broken... spooks at work?
I agree. The video feed is most likely raw and does not contain latitude and longitude info which is probably added via secure data link. It would be good for putting together a “He Blowed Up Real Good” montage video, though.
Terrorist: “Hey, how come this TV screen that shows monitors predator views is just showing an endless loop of TV’s in TV’s?”
Boom!
I see this as a positive. This gives us a new opportunity in PSYOPS. Imagine the possibilities.
Predators Rock! We’ve grown a couple generations of video game players and now... we’ll kill bad guys from halfway around the world while simulaneously IM’g friends for lunch plans. Guess it sucks to be jihadi stuck in the 13th century!
The solution is as simple as one mouse click away.
LLS
If you see the feed, you know where the drones are and where they are targeting, that’s a HUGE tactical problem. If you know where we are going/looking, you know where not to be.
I can’t believe anyone authorized non encryption of the video feeds to begin with... I’d love to see the techs who fought to prevent this and managements excuse to let it go.
As I said above, the video feed is probably raw and contains not lat and long info. If you have not studied aerial maps extensively from many angles and can quickly determine where the drone may be, the info will be of little help.
Raw video has that information keyed right on top of the camera image.
Sorry about that - I did a search first before I posted but I guess the titles were too different.
Sorry? For what? Yours is a different article on the same subject. That’s fine by me, and certainly not an “already posted.”
US military drone security breach "fixed"-official-Excerpt (Roto-Reuters)WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The Pentagon has closed a security breach that allowed insurgents to hack into data feeds from pilotless "drone" aircraft that provide real-time video of war zones, a U.S. defense official said on Thursday.
The comments followed a report in the Wall Street Journal that revealed Shi'ite fighters in Iraq used software that cost as little as $26 to intercept the video feeds, potentially allowing them to monitor U.S. military operations.
"It is an old issue that was addressed and fixed," the U.S. defense official said when asked about the article.
The article said U.S. military personnel in Iraq discovered the problem last year after apprehending a Shi'ite insurgent who had digital files of drone video feeds on his laptop. More files were found on other militants' laptops in July.
The Predator will take care of that.
Or maybe not...
Not Just Drones: Militants Can Snoop on Most U.S. Warplanes (Updated)Link only due to Wired.com's no post policy.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.