UAV's hacked

[dudleybloke]

apparently iraqi insurgents have been intercepting the video feeds from us uav's.

experts say this could provide the enemy with information about where troops are planning to target.

i'v got 1 question.....

what idiot allowed this system with no encryption.

i would think one important factor in procuring equipment for the digital battlefield would be that your enemy cant use your signals.

[scorp]

I would have thought encrypting signals was a basic requirement. Would be funny if the insurgents figure out how to override the control signals..

[Ledaig]

Could well be a double bluff, with the insurgents being fed false information. A news story on the subject would help to gain authenticity.

[TonyToniTone]

The control signal is encrypted but not the rover video uplink

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/12/not-just-d...

[Eric Mc]

During the wars in Yugoslvia, video feeds from drones were usually unscrambled and a mini-hobby from the satellite enthusiast lobby of video intercepts grew up based on capturing the imagery.
There was an article on this in "Aviation News" at the time.

I would expect things are a bit more sophisticated now.