Cheap software helps Iraqi militants track US drones: report

Iraqi militants have regularly used cheap and widely-available software to intercept the feeds of US-operated drones,the Wall Street Journal reported.

Iraqi militants have regularly used cheap and widely-available software to intercept the feeds of US-operated drones,the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Citing senior defense and intelligence officials,the Journal said Iranian-backed Shiite insurgents used software programs such as SkyGrabber — available online for USD 25.95 — to capture drone feeds.

The practice was uncovered in July 2009,when the US military found files of intercepted drone video feeds on the laptop of a captured militant.

Story continues below this ad

They discovered “days and days and hours and hours of proof,” a person described as familiar with the situation told the Journal. “It is part of their kits now.”

Some of the most detailed examples of drone intercepts have been uncovered in Iraq,but the same technique is known to have been employed in Afghanistan and could easily be used in other areas where US drones operate.

The SkyGrabber program and others take advantage of the unencrypted downlink between the drone and ground control.

The US government has known about the flaw since the 1990s,but assumed its adversaries would not be able to take advantage of it,the Journal said.

Story continues below this ad

US officials said there was no evidence that militants could control the drones or otherwise interfere with their flights,but the vulnerability would allow the unmanned craft to be monitored and tracked.