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hardware hacking

Insurgents hack us drones

According to the wall street journal Insurgents in Iraq have hacked the predator drones being used there and in afganistan to intercept the video feed of where they are. The best part about this hack: they achieved it using $26 off the shelf software. From the article:

Senior defense and intelligence officials said Iranian-backed insurgents intercepted the video feeds by taking advantage of an unprotected communications link in some of the remotely flown planes' systems. Shiite fighters in Iraq used software programs such as SkyGrabber -- available for as little as $25.95 on the Internet -- to regularly capture drone video feeds, according to a person familiar with reports on the matter.
U.S. officials say there is no evidence that militants were able to take control of the drones or otherwise interfere with their flights. Still, the intercepts could give America's enemies battlefield advantages by removing the element of surprise from certain missions and making it easier for insurgents to determine which roads and buildings are under U.S. surveillance.

Somehow, I doubt they actually paid for the software.

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