OT - US Predator drones have hacking problems

[General Pain]

http://cbs4.com/national/predator.drones.hacked.2.1375262.html

[Abbott Shaull]

I can hear several people who wear stars and some with birds saying 'Doh!'

Not to surprising.

It kinda like the Patriot Missile. Problems were known for years, but it was talked up to make people feel safe.

[pmulcahy11b]

The first thing that came to my mind was, "Why didn't they design the Predator with encryption hardware already installed!!!"

I'm just saying -- my computer has better protection than a Predator's software does...

And how long will it be until they're shooting at us with our own drones

[pmulcahy11b]

It kinda like the Patriot Missile. Problems were known for years, but it was talked up to make people feel safe.

Like a certain assault rifle many folks are familiar with

[cavtroop]

The first thing that came to my mind was, "Why didn't they design the Predator with encryption hardware already installed!!!"

I'm just saying -- my computer has better protection than a Predator's software does...

And how long will it be until they're shooting at us with our own drones

Reading up on it, these were designed in the early 90's, before encryption was common/cheap/understood real well. Looks like someone made the (horrendous) decision to not encrypt the last leg of the transmission to save on time/money/headaces. Bad, bad bad call. Hopefully they can be retrofitted cheap, this is a big deal.

These are 'only' insurgents right now - imagine the hell that could happen should we face a more technologically advanced enemy.

[Abbott Shaull]

Like a certain assault rifle many folks are familiar with

Yeah I know. The AK are so inaccurate...Opps wrong insult rifle...Then again I guess I really didn't need to carry around that Bayonet all of those times, since I was the Fire Team Grenadier.

[Abbott Shaull]

Reading up on it, these were designed in the early 90's, before encryption was common/cheap/understood real well. Looks like someone made the (horrendous) decision to not encrypt the last leg of the transmission to save on time/money/headaces. Bad, bad bad call. Hopefully they can be retrofitted cheap, this is a big deal.

These are 'only' insurgents right now - imagine the hell that could happen should we face a more technologically advanced enemy.

Yeah, that is why I am not surprise they aren't encrypted, what does surprise me it took as long for the Bad Guys to figure it out and for it to get to the Media. Everyone wonders why we let the Russian run rough of the Georgia last summer, or everyone else not too worried. Now only if the guys who are trooping around on our side could see what they were watching.

[TiggerCCW UK]

Like a certain assault rifle many folks are familiar with

More than one I would guess - thats right SA80/L85A1, we're looking at you!!

[Abbott Shaull]

The M16s has it share of issues too, granted it wouldn't fall apart like those, but if you didn't clean them regularly, they would fail. Part of the reason for the love/hate relationship that dates back to the Vietnam War.

[Abbott Shaull]

It is one those things, as your technology moves forward, your enemy technology moves forward too. They will always find ways to exploit things.

Much like the probing that go largely unreported by media that are conducted by various nations against other internet infrastructure. What more shocking is many of these people were trained in countries that are being attacked, so they know how to defeat the limited amount security that are in placed.

Also this is one of the issues with some of the technology to bring more information to the troops at the front. It all about encrypting it, and to update the encryption process fast enough so as to keep the enemy guessing what you know and don't know.