The hacking may give insurgents some advantage in that they can apparently
see what the drones are seeing but since there is no control of the drones they
can still carry out their missions.
There seems little discussion about the illegality or immorality of using
drones. MOst discussion is about their vulnerabilities and/or their being a
great recruiting tool for militants. Now Obama is also using guided missiles to
hit suspected Al Qaeda targets in Yemen. Rather surprisingly he accepts
responsibility. In the case of drones they are always suspected US drones! In
the case of Yemen Obama claimed responsibility even as the government claims
the US was not involved! Apparently Obama does not care that claiming
responsibility may help destabilise the Yemen govt. even more. It will face
insurgents from the South North and AL Qaeda now!
Cheers, ken hanly
Blog: http://kenthink7.blogspot.com/index.html
Blog: http://kencan7.blogspot.com/index.html
--- On Thu, 12/17/09, Jim Devine <[email protected]> wrote:
> From: Jim Devine <[email protected]>
> Subject: [Pen-l] drones aren't just immoral -- they're a dumb weapon.
> To: "Pen-l" <[email protected]>
> Date: Thursday, December 17, 2009, 7:29 PM
> from SLATE:
>
> >Insurgents Can Easily Hack Drones
>
> > The remotely piloted aircraft has become a key weapon
> in the fights in Afghanistan and Iraq. It costs millions of
> dollars apiece, and with the help of cheap software,
> insurgents can intercept the live video feeds from the
> drones. Using software programs such as Skygrabber, which
> costs $26 and copies are widely available for free online,
> insurgents can exploit a security hole in the system to get
> a look at exactly what U.S. personnel are seeing. Most of
> the hacking discoveries have been in Iraq, but officials
> have found evidence that it is going on in Afghanistan as
> well. Although it doesn't seem like militants can actually
> take control of the drones, just being able to take a look
> at what they are recording could be of tremendous help to
> escape the watchful eye of the United States. American
> officials have known about this vulnerability for years, but
> they didn't think enemies would know how to take advantage
> of it. There's been some attempt at encryption, but it's no
> easy proposition and could hurt the ability to act on the
> information quickly. Now the United States is getting ready
> to spend as much as $4.5 billion to buy new-generation
> drones that have the same vulnerability.<
>
> from Wall Street JOURNAL at
> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126102247889095011.html
> --
> Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti."
> (Go your own
> way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
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>
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