Virus Hits UAV Fleet

[Fishwelding]

I'm more concerned with a virus that is planted into a network and just lays dormant until it is needed. Information warfare is truly the battleground of the 21st century. I saw some pics of a Russian hydroelectric plant that had a virus inserted into it's SCADA system and it was absolutely devastated. I don't get the warm and fuzzy that the US is adequately protected against a threat like this.

It may be that there is no protection against this, that's realistically affordable under present circumstances. Institutions large and small might have to learn to live with the possibility that institutional secrets and closed-control systems are simply no longer tenable, outside a very few types (like the old copper-wire lines to and between Minuteman silos and bunkers). Some countries feel they can try to control political developments by stifling the internet. Particularly, Web 2.0 (the social media networks) aggravate them. They fail, of course, because small handsets drawing from uncontrollable nodes undermine their efforts. Plus, they merely end up punishing whatever productive economy they have, by trying to stomp on internet bandwidth. This is the new Capitalism.

I'm increasingly becoming fascinated by all this, whether it be political rallies, Arab Springs, London riots, or impressive disaster relief in Japan. Systems of authority-governments and corporations-really seem sluggish in the face of the new networks of small actors: individuals, cells, "flash-mobs," etc., connected by mobile internet. They're always a day late/dollar short. Even the big news media networks are really has-beens-in-the-making in the face of twitter, facebook, wikis, and even old-time blogs. These clumsy giants can only fight back by hurting themselves. Meanwhile, old-style rough-country guerrillas, with man-portable weapons, hodge-podge camouflage, and military chains of command, were small potatoes. Sooner or later attack helicopters, drones, JDAMs, or rifle rounds find there mark, there.

So what's the fighter squadron, infantry unit, or warship of the future look like? Some kind of semi-closed-architecture unit, independently encrypted cell that communicates in short-burst fashion with its logistical train and higher-ups? All Anime-cyberpunkish autonomous operation, after having been given the most brief, almost obvious objectives from HQ? In 20 years, everyone's a SEAL team?

[PetarB]

There is protection against this, however it requires a secure hardware environment (SHE) which is both very expensive and difficult to implement. But it can be done. Perhaps not by this generation of military, where the people who are making decisions in relation to this issue, do not even understand the issues that well.

Edit: Tony Stark, I love your 'fix'! ;)

Edited October 10, 2011 by PetarB

[datahiker]

For those of you who are interested, I just finished a great book titled "Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About It," by Richard Clarke. It's fascinating and easy to read.

And scary.

I thought most SCADA systems were not supposed to be connected to the internet but evidently some are. And that doesn't even count the private infrastructure companies where security is a joke.

[vvac201]

Is this about when Random Cat Facts shows up?

[Tank]

It was only a matter of time.

http://articles.cnn.com/2009-12-17/us/drone.video.hacked_1_uav-systems-encryption-feeds?_s=PM:US

[11bee]

I thought most SCADA systems were not supposed to be connected to the internet but evidently some are. And that doesn't even count the private infrastructure companies where security is a joke.

In theory, the machines running the SCADA programs are supposed to be on dedicated computers that are completely isolated from the net and all other administrative PC's. In practice, this doesn't happen as often as it should. Even if they are completely isolated, having an operative implant a virus from a thumb drive is a pretty easy task.

[datahiker]

It was only a matter of time.

http://articles.cnn.com/2009-12-17/us/drone.video.hacked_1_uav-systems-encryption-feeds?_s=PM:US

Gotta love the "it was too slow so we removed the encryption" excuse. Productivity trumps security every time.

[Raymond]

Is this about when Random Cat Facts shows up?

on the UAV or on the board here? :D

[dahut]

In theory, the machines running the SCADA programs are supposed to be on dedicated computers that are completely isolated from the net and all other administrative PC's. In practice, this doesn't happen as often as it should. Even if they are completely isolated, having an operative implant a virus from a thumb drive is a pretty easy task.

WE run a SCADA variant where I work and it is offline - dedicated. But it has the capacity to interact over the net if wanted. I can understand the need to use the internet, and I believe the military first took advantage of it (Al Gore notwithstanding).

But we obviously have a few things still to learn. Im pretty sure the coming years will see the internet either divided into segments... public, private and government - or locked down.

[Fishwelding]

WE run a SCADA variant where I work and it is offline - dedicated. But it has the capacity to interact over the net if wanted. I can understand the need to use the internet, and I believe the military first took advantage of it (Al Gore notwithstanding).

But we obviously have a few things still to learn. Im pretty sure the coming years will see the internet either divided into segments... public, private and government - or locked down.

Much of the internet, crucial parts of it, was created in order to decenter command authority for nuclear deterrence. Wherever the surviving leader in the chain of command is, on whatever command aircraft (s)he is aboard, there is a connection to a multi-node, distributed pathway network, able to give orders to launch ICBMs. Soviets, you hit Cheyenne Mountain, you hit D.C., you hit whatever, and we'll still rise against you and wreck your way of life, too. Because we are not simply one leader, leadership, or command authority. We are an infinite network of equally accessible spaces. I am Legion; We are Many. A Marine wrote an awesome article on this philosophy generally for Naval Institute Proceedings back in the 1990s (93'? It's been awhile. But as usual, Marines masquerade as simpletons but are often intellectuals).

So they unleashed a new way of thinking about authority, decisionmaking, and assessment. Potentially, it can be a civilization-changing thing. But the problem is that we're all so invested in the old way of thinking, that it could be very costly for many of us undergoing the resulting change. Witness the music and movie media companies, hapless against DVD-cracking, distributed MP3s, etc. Locking down will require unprecedented cooperation between world governments and elites generally--which itself would bring radical political innovation like the world has never seen, right? A conspiracy so vast that, upon its completion, it's arguable there'd be no such thing as "nations" at all.

Edited October 10, 2011 by Fishwelding

[Antonov]

Looks like bad judgment made things worse:

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/10/get-hacked-dont-tell-drone-base-didnt-report-virus.ars

Edited October 11, 2011 by Antonov

[dahut]

Looks like bad judgment made things worse:

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/10/get-hacked-dont-tell-drone-base-didnt-report-virus.ars

I loved this part: "The plan is to one day integrate all that infrastructure into a single Air Force network. But for now, it’s largely cybersecurity by the honor system. Each base and each unit in the Air Force has its own geek squad. They only call for help if there’s a broader network problem, or if they’re truly stumped."

[dahut]

Much of the internet, crucial parts of it, was created in order to decenter command authority for nuclear deterrence. Wherever the surviving leader in the chain of command is, on whatever command aircraft (s)he is aboard, there is a connection to a multi-node, distributed pathway network, able to give orders to launch ICBMs. Soviets, you hit Cheyenne Mountain, you hit D.C., you hit whatever, and we'll still rise against you and wreck your way of life, too. Because we are not simply one leader, leadership, or command authority. We are an infinite network of equally accessible spaces. I am Legion; We are Many. A Marine wrote an awesome article on this philosophy generally for Naval Institute Proceedings back in the 1990s (93'? It's been awhile. But as usual, Marines masquerade as simpletons but are often intellectuals).

So they unleashed a new way of thinking about authority, decisionmaking, and assessment. Potentially, it can be a civilization-changing thing. But the problem is that we're all so invested in the old way of thinking, that it could be very costly for many of us undergoing the resulting change. Witness the music and movie media companies, hapless against DVD-cracking, distributed MP3s, etc. Locking down will require unprecedented cooperation between world governments and elites generally--which itself would bring radical political innovation like the world has never seen, right? A conspiracy so vast that, upon its completion, it's arguable there'd be no such thing as "nations" at all.

Im not so sure it would have to be a conspiracy, cloak and dagger and all that. It could simply appear as a unilateral co-joining of aligned national sectors.... or some other such description.

I get what you are saying - getting people to work that closely together, especially leaders, is not likely to happen. At the same time, just because some slackers in one sector of the Air Force command let this slip by doesn't mean the real movers and shakers cannot do what they want.

Never underestimate the ability of really sincere, focused people to f**k things up royally for the rest of us.

Edited October 12, 2011 by dahut