Report: Iran Hacked, Hijacked U.S. Drone • Hacker News Board

Re: Report: Iran Hacked, Hijacked U.S. Drone

#131

Post by tarre » Fri, Dec 16, 2011, 6:01 PM UTC

ysangkok wrote: post #120

tarre wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there is no need to hack the signal. It can be done by capturing and delaying signals. What you need for that is 1) the location of satellites. You can probably get it from the commercial signal. 2) transmission system, which overpowers signals from satellites. Many amateurs have it too. 3) location of the receiver you want to distract. I have no idea, how this works, but apparently it is possible. 4) program…

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replay_attack

I'm not sure, if I'm thinking this way too simply, but I don't think any of those countermeasures work in this case. I don't know, if satellite gets signals from GPS-device (I don't think so), when using military signal, but anyway it will get exactly the same signal, as it would get in non-disturbed system. Similarly the droid will have exactly the same signal from satellite, only delayed.

When commercial GPS-devices begin to locate themselves, they need four satellites for the process: Three for the coordinates and one for time. I believe, that military system works the same way. If you cut down the signals for a while, the droid will, when the signal (delayed one) comes back, maybe adjust it's clock a couple of 1/10000ths of second to get GPS-locationing back in business. And after that the signal transmitter decides, where the droid will fly.

Many guesses here, but this is just one suggestion free for discussion, how the system might work...

Re: Report: Iran Hacked, Hijacked U.S. Drone

#132

Post by jpadkins » Fri, Dec 16, 2011, 6:51 PM UTC

trotsky wrote: post #92

robk wrote: post #87

This all seems really fishy. You'd think if this was really top-secret level equipment, there would be several failsafes and an inevitable self-destruct mechanism in the event it was out of contact enough to reasonably assume capture. The fact it's wholly intact makes me wonder if it's some sort of honeypot.

No program is going to take their long dwell time drones that need every ounce for batteries and pack them full of explosives.

can't you make the batteries explosive?

would be a nice hack.

Re: Report: Iran Hacked, Hijacked U.S. Drone

#133

Post by stcredzero » Fri, Dec 16, 2011, 9:14 PM UTC

cameldrv wrote: post #100

johno215 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sigh.. I hope it was not that insecure.

All of the military GPS receivers also use the civilian signal to initialize their position to lock on to the military encrypted signal. I would assume that in the event that they lose the P code, that they would revert to the C/A code.

If a human being lost GPS signal, they'd start using landmarks, or based on their last known position, just use dead reckoning to get over friendly airspace, then ask for help. Programming that into a drone takes time and so costs money. Maybe the drone was the victim of cost cutting?

Re: Report: Iran Hacked, Hijacked U.S. Drone

#134

Post by azernik » Sat, Dec 17, 2011, 7:45 AM UTC

skeptical wrote: post #118

azernik wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't downplay Iran's technological capability as this anonymous analyst seems to. By Middle Eastern (and developing world) standards, it's a fairly technologically advanced society - GDP per capita 4 times that of Egypt, 3 times that of Iraq - and this is a country where (unlike, say, Iraq in the 80s or Syria in the 2000s) its nuclear development program and missiles are indigenous. That said, I'm sure China an…

I don't know if you visited the countries you mentioned nor if you have any idea of their academic standards for example. Many people in here are used to american technological society and have no idea what it's like in other parts of the world. In countries like Iran the huge majority of the population never red a book, can't really read and write much more than the very basics, most of the people haven't assimilate…

I've been to Egypt (a few weeks pre-revolution) - it was shockingly ill-run and undeveloped. I've also been to Turkey - judging from the statistics and technical accomplishments (adjusting for sanctions), a country on a similar level of development to Iran. The difference was astounding. The general level of education and development seemed lower than in developed and semi-developed societies (my frames of reference being, respectively, the United States and Israel) but it was most of the way there.

More significantly, (though anecdotally) I know in the Bay Area several Iranians - educated up to Bachelor's level in Iranian universities - who are very capable of keeping up at the top of their fields.