Friday, June 29, 2012

A Texas College Shows How Easy It Is To Hijack A UAV Drone

US Navy handout photo of a RQ-4 Global Hawk drone (REUTERS/U.S. Navy)

Texas College Hacks Drone In Front Of DHS -- RT

There are a lot of cool things you can do with $1,000, but scientists at an Austin, Texas college have come across one that is often overlooked: for less than a grand, how’d you like to hijack a drone?

A group of researchers led by Professor Todd Humphreys from the University of Texas at Austin Radionavigation Laboratory recently succeeded in raising the eyebrows of the US government. With just around $1,000 in parts, Humphreys’ team took control of an unmanned aerial vehicle owned by the college, all in front of the US Department of Homeland Security.

After being challenged by his lab, the DHS dared Humphreys’ crew to hack into a drone and take command. Much to their chagrin, they did exactly that.

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My Comment: The drone that was hacked was a university drone .... and not a military one. But if it was a military drone .... I hope there are safeguards to prevent such a "hijacking".

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