Insurgents in Iraq hack into U.S. drone spy videos

Al-Quaeda has access to some of the smartest minds. How can the Dept of Defense be so naive as to believe that the drones don't need to be encrypted. This is the very same stupidity that got us into a war in Iraq thinking we'd be done in a matter of a couple of months.

I just can't believe the stupidity of the bush administration's Dept of Def. No wonder we're still trying to get his failures cleared up. < :-)

It's not really hacking is it when it is unencrypted.

These men with a religion from the dark ages who reject the modern world and all it’s evil ways don’t seem to mind borrowing from the evil west when it suits them. But then again what idiot sends up drones without encrypting their video signals? Now the men in black rags know how the system is used and that is half the defence against it. If you know how it is used and what it can do then you can take precautions against it. The American military went into Iraq and Afghanistan with one arm tied behind their back by bleeding hearts at home and with one stupidity after another they losing the use of the one good arm they had. They are not allowed to fight wars to win, only to look like they are the good guys and they are not even managing that.

LIBERTAS it's the Obama administration's Dept of Defense that is tackling this problem. Do you think that Al-Quaeda are a bunch of idiots? Why would you not encrypt the transmissions? Not you personally LIBERTAS. Hell before I retired they required all email, non-classified and personal to be encrypted also. Simple email.

I'm surprised that it hasn't been corrected before now. Really amazed. < :-)

So why would you not encrypt military transmissions from California to Pakistan?

The feeds weren't encrypted because it delays the real-time capability of the videos. It was a known defect that they'd figure they'd deal with in the future if/when others discovered their ability to see the feeds. And that's what they did.

This is not yet hacking because the insurgents cannot take control yet of the drones. It is rather called as just "sniffing". The unencrypted video feeds are just like video in television. They are just simple signal just like OFDM/CDMA-based digital TV broadcast. I think NHK/WOWOW, Direct-TV channels here in Japan is much even more difficult to sniff compare with that unencypted videos from the drones.

The microprocessors of the drones and related systems are older generations so real-time monitoring is almost not possible, if encryption are done, delays will happen. Drones, Apaches, B2, F15, F18 etc are still using old microprocessors similar or equivalent to Intel-80286 to Intel-80236. Some are even older which is comparable to Zilog Z-80/800/8,000 series based in mid-1980's. The only thing they can encrypt for this technology I guess is the command-line and voice communications based in CDMA technology.

grafton and adaydream; Your attacks on the former administration are getting tiresome and annoying.

This happened under Obamas watch and his policies of military spending cuts are more than likely to blame. The evil doers become more emboldened every day that Obama is in office. Were going to lose the battle in Iraq, i can see it now!!

The unencrypted drone signal is an issue/problem way back from the design stage years ago. The powerful US military still hasn't gotten around it. Heheh, they should learn from Terminator: Salvation.

DickMorris at 07:43 AM JST - 19th December

“grafton and adaydream; Your attacks on the former administration are getting tiresome and annoying.”

I think you take a moment and do a little careful rereading of what I wrote above. I make no mention at all of either US administration and what I said was in defence of what the US military could have done if they had been allowed to do their job rather than being politically controlled by which ever administration happened to be in power. I think you owe me an apology.

grafton; You mention the US military enetering Iraq with one arm tied behind its back, which is untrue. Support for the troops was strong then, unlike now, where shortages of equipment and lack of moral due to poor leadership is turning Iraq into a civil war zone.

DickMorris at 01:38 PM JST - 20th December “grafton; You mention the US military enetering Iraq with one arm tied behind its back, which is untrue. Support for the troops was strong then, unlike now, where shortages of equipment and lack of moral due to poor leadership is turning Iraq into a civil war zone.”

As far as that goes I agree with you, public support for the troops was strong, but I don’t believe they have ever been given the freedom to operate outside of political control. I believe that Washington (then and now) tied their arm behind their back in the beginning, then the press got in on the act and turned many Americans against the war. Perhaps with some justification given that it was now taking far too long, because of Washington’s interference. Had the military been allowed to fight a war to win in both Iraq and Afghanistan they would have done so by now. If the military were given both the materials they need and the freedom to use those material this could all be brought to a very quick end. Yes, it would be bloody and nasty, but which is better, the slow sick blood letting we are seeing now or a quick end to this so the people (and troops) of all the counties involved can move on and start rebuilding real lives rather all having to live in a low level war zone possibly for years?