Officers Warned of Flaw in U.S. Drones in 2004

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Source: The Wall Street Journal
By YOCHI J. DREAZEN, AUGUST COLE and SIOBHAN GORMAN

Senior U.S. military officers working for the Joint Chiefs of Staff discussed the danger of Russia and China intercepting and doctoring video from drone aircraft in 2004, but the Pentagon didn't begin securing the signals until this year, according to people familiar with the matter.

The disclosure came after The Wall Street Journal reported insurgents in Iraq had intercepted video feeds from drones, downloading unencrypted communications from the unmanned planes.

Members of the Pentagon's Joint Staff discussed the potential security shortfall of drone feeds in 2004 and 2005, according to two officers with direct knowledge of the deliberations.

Officers at the time weren't concerned about adversaries intercepting the signals in Iraq or Afghanistan because drones weren't yet common there and militants weren't thought to be technically sophisticated.


Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126109611986796377.html

since 1994. They foolishly believed that the opposition wasn't smart enough to figure out how to do it. The guest also said the big problem is not with the droans but with updating all the laptops in the field. There are thousands of laptops that get this info in Afghan, Iraq, and lots of other places. If you encript the droans, you have to get the SW to translate it in the field too of it will be useless!

Thanks for the info. I TiVo'ed Rachel and will check this segment out tomorrow.

More of the "Boys and their toys". Never mind the "guys in the caves can't figure this stuff out" attitude, what the H.... about Russia & China? The MIC blusters about the growing military threat from China as they modernize a bit from equipment designed in the 1950's and what a big "boogieman" they are or will be with all the money we have sent them for our cheap plastic Wal Mart wares, but they do NOTHING about securing this video link on these drones?


We really need to cut the Pentagon's budget by 75%.

:argh:

'Dag nabbit! JETHOR!!!!!!

On expensive gear.

Even Bush said, "I don't think you can win it"

If they supported them anymore they'd *all* be dead.