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Advanced radios captured by Iraqi insurgents could spell trouble (ISIS)
Washington Post ^ | 06/16/14 | Thomas Gibbons-Neff

Posted on 06/16/2014 1:34:15 PM PDT by winoneforthegipper

Iraq’s security forces, propped up by American equipment and weapons, have been routed by a contingent of insurgents bent on extending their territory from strongholds in Syria deep into Iraq. As Mosul and other cities fell, the West saw a host of images of once-American Humvees and helicopters firmly in the hands of its enemies.

Outrage followed shock, as years of effort in Iraq by the U.S. military seemed to unravel in a coup-de-grace that played out over the Internet. Analysts speculated that the newly seized weapons and vehicles could turn fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria into an even stauncher foe.

Yet, among the towed Black Hawk helicopters, Howitzer cannons and Humvees plastered all over social media lies an unseen weapon that could make the ISIS fighters exponentially more lethal if employed properly: advanced radio equipment.

The issue gained attention on Twitter on Wednesday after former Army Spc. Alex Horton posted a picture on Twitter of an ISIS fighter posing with a cache of ammunition and explosives. Atop one of the many olive drab crates was what Marine Capt. Brett Friedman said was a possible charging station for the AN/PRC-153 radio.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: War on Terror
KEYWORDS: iraq; isis; loot; radios; us
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To: Hulka

So the radios and encryption equipment are useless to an enemy?


41 posted on 06/16/2014 2:44:01 PM PDT by ansel12 ((Ted Cruz and Mike Lee-both of whom sit on the Senate Judiciary Comm as Ginsberg's importance fades)
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To: winoneforthegipper

I’m sure anything they use to communicate is monitored by a dozen different agencies.


42 posted on 06/16/2014 2:46:09 PM PDT by Sawdring
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To: ansel12

Yes. When you don’t have encryption keys and such. Yes, nothing but a heavy piece of junk.

See Post 40.


43 posted on 06/16/2014 2:47:14 PM PDT by Hulka
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To: cynwoody
Can't the bad guys re-key them?

Iraqi Army was trained in that, and they have all the hardware to service these radios. ISIS only needs to recruit one (1) soldier who can teach others. With $450M of cash at hand, ISIS can certainly hire such a guy. In those lands everything is for sale.

Hopefully, NSA built in a back door ...

Those are radios for battlefield communication. The information that they are used to send is expiring within hours, if not faster. It takes too much time to decrypt, even if it is possible at all.

44 posted on 06/16/2014 2:47:54 PM PDT by Greysard
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To: Hulka

They’re not heavy at all, actually. I was always afraid we’d break them they were so small and frail-looking. These probably don’t even take Type III encryption. Usually team radios only take Type I.

Even if they had fills in them, they wouldn’t be much use for secure comms.


45 posted on 06/16/2014 3:36:16 PM PDT by Future Snake Eater (CrossFit.com)
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To: 2banana; ansel12

If the IA is even remotely competent (big “if” there), they changed their crypto fills once the radios were compromised.

However....

1) The radios are usable in “plain text” mode or whatever the equivalent is on these. That means you’re transmitting in the clear—no encryption, so use at your own risk.

2) Even if they have fills, usually these small squad/team radios only take Type I encryption, not the hefty Type III like our forces use in our vehicles or other, larger man-portable radios (RT1523, PRC-117F/G, etc). That means that, even if a group didn’t know the encryption, a halfway decent SIGINT crew could crack it without too much effort.

As recent events in Iraq go, this one is not a big deal at all.


46 posted on 06/16/2014 4:12:54 PM PDT by Future Snake Eater (CrossFit.com)
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To: Future Snake Eater

To go back to my original post.

To: winoneforthegipper
“The Iraqi military would and should have changed their encryption keys after the equipment was lost, but new encryption could be emplaced by individuals with specific training and equipment.
If that becomes the case, the communications equipment would allow ISIS fighters to coordinate over greater distances without interference from adjacent enemy units.”
26 posted on 6/16/2014 1:52:55 PM by ansel12


47 posted on 06/16/2014 4:20:28 PM PDT by ansel12 ((Ted Cruz and Mike Lee-both of whom sit on the Senate Judiciary Comm as Ginsberg's importance fades)
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To: ansel12

But they’re still dealing in Type I encryption. Not exactly secure.


48 posted on 06/16/2014 4:31:09 PM PDT by Future Snake Eater (CrossFit.com)
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To: Future Snake Eater

My guess is that distance and enhanced communication capabilities is a good enough gain for them.


49 posted on 06/16/2014 4:44:33 PM PDT by ansel12 ((Ted Cruz and Mike Lee-both of whom sit on the Senate Judiciary Comm as Ginsberg's importance fades)
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To: ansel12

Maybe, but these folks have no shortage of cell phones and FRS radios, and these radios are very similar to the latter. Encryption capabilities are about the only leg-up these radios have on FRS.


50 posted on 06/16/2014 4:46:28 PM PDT by Future Snake Eater (CrossFit.com)
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To: Future Snake Eater

I guess, we used to take our advanced radios and communications trucks so serious though, in the 1980s.


51 posted on 06/16/2014 4:53:32 PM PDT by ansel12 ((Ted Cruz and Mike Lee-both of whom sit on the Senate Judiciary Comm as Ginsberg's importance fades)
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To: ansel12

A standard infantry platoon has many, many methods of communication even up to data access for dismounted troops. This kind of radio was basic, barebones, sometimes barely worked at all, especially in a dense urban environment. My PLT didn’t have these exact radios (we used ICOMs for this task), but the principle is the same. We actually weren’t allowed to say anything particularly sensitive over these radios due to their comparatively insecure crypto.


52 posted on 06/16/2014 5:17:13 PM PDT by Future Snake Eater (CrossFit.com)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...

Thanks winoneforthegipper.

It’s obvious that they already had a good communications system.


53 posted on 06/16/2014 5:21:49 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: Future Snake Eater

The radio in the article was just an example because it was in a photograph,

The radios and encryption devices we worried about were far more advanced than regular infantry carried.

Nonetheless, they seem to be taking over advanced and massive amounts military equipment, along with the bank vaults.

They are becoming for the first time, a true terrorist Army.


54 posted on 06/16/2014 5:28:43 PM PDT by ansel12 ((Ted Cruz and Mike Lee-both of whom sit on the Senate Judiciary Comm as Ginsberg's importance fades)
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To: ansel12
Like Cobra.


55 posted on 06/16/2014 5:40:32 PM PDT by Future Snake Eater (CrossFit.com)
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To: Future Snake Eater

Yeah, could have been more clear by what I meant. Having ‘humped a ruck’ as a FAC, I always considered anything not entirely useful, as these are without proper crypto tapes and such, as ‘heavy.’ It was my particular way. . . just me talking.


56 posted on 06/17/2014 8:09:57 AM PDT by Hulka
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