Never having to worry about the lookout's effectiveness....

[prv]

Indeed, perfectly possible. The US drones carrying Hellfire missiles run the same risk. They take a lot of measures to try to prevent it happening of course. So far I haven't heard of the Russians taking control of one of them in Syria but I'm sure they try.

Though there have been cases of ISIS (or the Taliban, can't remember which) picking up the video downlink on a laptop in order to know what's being targeted. Apparently the camera part is not fully integrated with the rest of the system, it's a commercial product strapped on the side (think very expensive webcam) and for a long time they hadn't bothered to turn on encryption...

Pete

 

[RAI]

Though there have been cases of ISIS (or the Taliban, can't remember which) picking up the video downlink on a laptop in order to know what's being targeted. Apparently the camera part is not fully integrated with the rest of the system, it's a commercial product strapped on the side (think very expensive webcam) and for a long time they hadn't bothered to turn on encryption...

Pete

I doubt that is true for the big US drones, or the Russian ones. But the Syrians on both sides have been using drones for reconnaissance, they are a lot cheaper and likely more vulnerable, especially as they use direct links rather than the satellite links that the US uses. Then again the US armed forces are using a lot of mini drones too, so they may well vulnerable as well.

The ships we are talking about would probably have to use satellite data links to get adequate coverage.

 

[prv]

I doubt that is true for the big US drones, or the Russian ones.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8419147.stm

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/12/17/drone.video.hacked/index.html

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB126102247889095011

To be clear, SkyGrabber isn't some evil military "hacking" software being peddled by irresponsible Russians - it's the satellite software equivalent of an aviation nerd's scanner radio and the joke goes that it's mostly used for "stealing your neighbour's porn channels". The epic fail here is the US deciding to turn off encryption because they think they can "operate these systems with impunity in third-world countries that don't have the technology", a staggering degree of arrogance and unawareness about the rest of the modern world.

Pete

 

[RAI]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8419147.stm

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/12/17/drone.video.hacked/index.html

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB126102247889095011

To be clear, SkyGrabber isn't some evil military "hacking" software being peddled by irresponsible Russians - it's the satellite software equivalent of an aviation nerd's scanner radio and the joke goes that it's mostly used for "stealing your neighbour's porn channels". The epic fail here is the US deciding to turn off encryption because they think they can "operate these systems with impunity in third-world countries that don't have the technology", a staggering degree of arrogance and unawareness about the rest of the modern world.

Pete

Thanks for the links. Hopefully the US has plugged that gap. As you say arrogance.

 

[prv]

Thanks for the links. Hopefully the US has plugged that gap. As you say arrogance.

I believe that one has been fixed for many years now, yes - you'll notice all the stories are from 2009. But it's symptomatic of attitudes in non-Internet industries that are suddenly becoming interconnected and don't have the security culture to cope with it well. Same with the ridiculous Nissan Leaf farce a couple of years ago, where anyone could control the accessories (air con, heating, horn, I believe door locks, but not actual driving) of any Leaf anywhere in the world just by knowing its VIN number. Which is a) printed on the windscreen if you want to mess with a specific car, and b) trivially enumerable if you don't care who you annoy.

Pete

 

[Resolution]

You should check out a company called ASV (Autonomous Surface Vehicles) in Portchester, run by a delightful guy called Dan Hook. They are designing and manufacturing some fascinating stuff, some military, some for offshore energy servicing, some surveying. Dan said that the big worry on the military kit was not being hijacked completely, but in having the controls marginally corrupted by such a small amount that you did not realise you had been hacked. And your vessel went 1 degree off course and rammed the wrong ship.....