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Computer virus hits US Predator and Reaper drone fleet

arstechnica.com

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Re: Computer virus hits US Predator and Reaper drone fleet

#11

Post by JonnieCache »

Like hugh says, this doesn't add up at all.

“We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back,” says a source familiar with the network infection, one of three that told Danger Room about the virus. “We think it’s benign. But we just don’t know.”

C'mon. You're the military. "It just keeps coming back?" So you decide to do a press release about it? Please.

I wouldn't have whined like that when I was de-malwareing neighbourhood PCs at age 13, I would have fixed it. If I can successfully keep malware off the PCs of middle aged parents with teenaged children, then the government capable of developing and operating fleets of unmanned military drones can certainly isolate a network and disable the USB bus.

There is definitely some high level shit going on right here. I doubt we'll know about it for many years, if ever.

Re: Computer virus hits US Predator and Reaper drone fleet

#13

Post by Pyrodogg »

hugh3 wrote: post #6

It seems to me that a more interesting question than "how did the malware get there?" is "why are they telling us that they found it?" Presumably the default thing to do under these circumstances would be to shut up about it, so the fact that they're broadcasting it to the whole world must mean something. In any case I wouldn't take any of the details at face value -- e.g. do they really not have any idea where it ca…

Because someone leaked it.

> “We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back,” says a source familiar with the network infection, one of three that told Danger Room about the virus. “We think it’s benign. But we just don’t know.”

The end of the article says they asked for an official response and were stonewalled.

> The Air Force declined to comment directly on the virus. “We generally do not discuss specific vulnerabilities, threats, or responses to our computer networks, since that helps people looking to exploit or attack our systems to refine their approach,” says Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis, a spokesman for Air Combat Command, which oversees the drones and all other Air Force tactical aircraft. “We invest a lot in protecting and monitoring our systems to counter threats and ensure security, which includes a comprehensive response to viruses, worms, and other malware we discover.”

'The military' doesn't want anyone to know; some individuals inside do.

Re: Computer virus hits US Predator and Reaper drone fleet

#14

Post by rdl »

hugh3 wrote: post #6

It seems to me that a more interesting question than "how did the malware get there?" is "why are they telling us that they found it?" Presumably the default thing to do under these circumstances would be to shut up about it, so the fact that they're broadcasting it to the whole world must mean something. In any case I wouldn't take any of the details at face value -- e.g. do they really not have any idea where it ca…

They announced the big "jihad on all USB drives" back in 2009. There were factory shinkwrapped USB drives for sale on base which came pre-loaded with viruses; people would buy those, mark them as Secret, put them on SIPRnet, and then machines would be infected. It was lulztastic, actually.

I think once something hits a large enough scale, they announce it; it's the easiest way to communicate to the affected DoD community (military, contractors, etc.), at which point it is basically public knowledge.

Re: Computer virus hits US Predator and Reaper drone fleet

#15

Post by rdl »

JonnieCache wrote: post #11

Like hugh says, this doesn't add up at all. “We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back,” says a source familiar with the network infection, one of three that told Danger Room about the virus. “We think it’s benign. But we just don’t know.” C'mon. You're the military. "It just keeps coming back?" So you decide to do a press release about it? Please. I wouldn't have whined like that when I was de-malwareing neigh…

There are hundreds of thousands of machines and millions of removable drives. Tracking down every last instance of a piece of malware and then dealing with it is quite hard at that scale. Usually they fall back on policy ("no usb/removable drives")

They're handicapped by a need AND compulsion to use contractors for everything. Actual government employees didn't build drones; they were all developed and in many cases largely maintained and even operated by private contractors, working to government requirements (which themselves are structured to make the contractors inefficient, compared to normal commercial companies). Same thing with networks.

Re: Computer virus hits US Predator and Reaper drone fleet

#17

Post by kakali »

brianobush wrote: post #5
ck2 wrote: post #4

Oh please tell me they aren't running windows. Just wait until the cops start using these in the USA for "crowd control" ugh.

probably are... mission control at spacex has many windows terminals.

What does this have to do with SpaceX? They're not DoD and they don't fly drones.

Re: Computer virus hits US Predator and Reaper drone fleet

#18

Post by misterbwong »

rdl wrote: post #10
jarrett wrote: post #3

Does anybody know what operating system the infected machines run? If it's a Unix variant, ouch--I guess they have some really bad luck. But if this is just an everyday virus, as opposed to cyber warfare targeting the drones specifically, I can't help but think they might be running Windows. Air gap or not, that seems risky to me.

That's funny. It's Windows. Very little Unix anywhere in the DoD over the past few years on new systems; it's mainly legacy, or embedded in products they purchase. There are definitely some Unix server deployments within DoD even now, but they're few and far between. Blue Screen of Death and all.

Wow can anyone confirm this? I'm surprised that the drones themselves are running windows. If so, I presume it's win CE or a custom variant of?

Re: Computer virus hits US Predator and Reaper drone fleet

#19

Post by bh42222 »

brianobush wrote: post #5
ck2 wrote: post #4

Oh please tell me they aren't running windows. Just wait until the cops start using these in the USA for "crowd control" ugh.

probably are... mission control at spacex has many windows terminals.

mission control at spacex has many windows terminals

What in the...!?!?

Re: Computer virus hits US Predator and Reaper drone fleet

#20

Post by eli »

JonnieCache wrote: post #11

Like hugh says, this doesn't add up at all. “We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back,” says a source familiar with the network infection, one of three that told Danger Room about the virus. “We think it’s benign. But we just don’t know.” C'mon. You're the military. "It just keeps coming back?" So you decide to do a press release about it? Please. I wouldn't have whined like that when I was de-malwareing neigh…

Wired article citing anonymous sources != press release
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