Computer Virus Infects U.S. Drone Fleet
Noah Shachtman reports at Danger Room that a “computer virus has infected the cockpits of America’s Predator and Reaper drones, logging pilots’ every keystroke as they remotely fly missions over Afghanistan and other warzones.” The story does not indicate how or by whom the virus was introduced, or how serious it is. But the story points up the weakness in the U.S.
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Noah Shachtman reports at Danger Room that a “computer virus has infected the cockpits of America’s Predator and Reaper drones, logging pilots’ every keystroke as they remotely fly missions over Afghanistan and other warzones.” The story does not indicate how or by whom the virus was introduced, or how serious it is. But the story points up the weakness in the U.S. defense and national security establishment’s increasing reliance on digital systems (more and more UAVs and other robots, netcentricity in all its guises, including reliance on GPS systems that are vulnerable to attack, 90-95% of military and intelligence communications traveling over the private network, etc.) The fact is that our increasing reliance on digital systems – not just in the national security world, but throughout society – makes us increasingly vulnerable to attacks and espionage by our adversaries. Joel Brenner – formerly the head of U.S. counterintelligence under the Director of National Intelligence and before that the NSA's Inspector General – has a scary and informative new book on this topic that is worth reading for those interested in cybersecurity and related issues.
Jack Goldsmith is the Learned Hand Professor at Harvard Law School, co-founder of Lawfare, and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Before coming to Harvard, Professor Goldsmith served as Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel from 2003-2004, and Special Counsel to the Department of Defense from 2002-2003.
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