US Predator drones intercepted

According to reports, video feeds from US Predator drones were intercepted and recorded by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, using the $25 piece of software called SkyGrabber.

SkyGrabber intercepts satellite data, assembles the data into files and saves them to the local computer.  This is a technique referred to as packet or token sniffing.  By using SkyGrabber and pointing a satellite dish to the sky, insurgents are able to capture and assemble unencrypted video feeds from US Predator drones.

In simplest terms, these video feeds are broadcast in a manner anyone with the right equipment to capture or “listen in” can view.  There is of course more technically to intercepting, packet sniffing and re-assembling these video feeds but you could describe it similar to an unscrambled over the air public TV broadcast that just requires the right equipment to receive.

From Associated Press:

Shiite fighters in Iraq used off-the-shelf software programs such as SkyGrabber — available for as little as $25.95 on the Internet — to regularly capture drone video feeds, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The hacking was possible because the remotely flown planes have an unprotected communications link.

The Defense Department has addressed the issue, first discovered a year ago, by working to encrypt all its drone video feeds from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the defense official said.

Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula, deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, said earlier this week that hacking is always a concern.

“Any time you have a system that is operated through command links, and that broadcasts information using omni-directional signals, those are subject to listening and exploitation,” said Deptula. “One of the ways we deal with that is encrypting signals.”

The Predator, also key to the war in Afghanistan and the hunt for al-Qaida and other militants in neighboring Pakistan, can fly for hours remotely controlled by pilots thousands of miles away. It can fly armed or unarmed and is part of a growing arsenal of such craft that includes the Reaper and Raven as well as a new, high-tech video sensor system called the Gorgon Stare, being installed on Reapers.

The military has known about the vulnerability for more than a decade, but assumed adversaries would not be able to exploit it.

Then in December 2008, the military apprehended a Shiite militant in Iraq whose laptop contained files of intercepted drone video feeds, the Journal reported. In July, they found pirated feeds on other militant laptops, leading some officials to conclude that groups trained and funded by Iran were regularly intercepting feeds and sharing them with multiple extremist groups.

Tags: MQ-1 Predator, SkyGrabber, US Predator, US Predator drones