Computer virus hits US drone station
October 8th, 2011 - 10:17 am ICT by IANSLos Angeles, Oct 8 (IANS) A stubborn computer virus has reportedly hit the US Nevada control station that remotely pilot US military drone aircraft on missions in Afghanistan and other war zones, Xinhua reported.
The virus has infected the cockpits of American Predator and Reaper drones, logging pilots’ every keystroke.
According to Wired magazine, the virus, first detected about two weeks ago by the military’s Host-Based Security System, has not prevented pilots at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada from flying their missions overseas. However, the virus has proven very difficult to eradicate.
“We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back,” Wired quoted a source as saying. “We think it’s benign. But we just don’t know.”
The virus has infected both classified and unclassified machines at the base, but it was reported that no classified information has been lost or transmitted outside, the report said Friday.
The US uses the unmanned aircraft to conduct surveillance and carry out strikes on enemy targets. They are used particularly in remote and mountainous areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen. The affected US drones used to kill Anwar al-Awlaki and other Al Qaeda chiefs.
In 2009, US forces discovered drone footage on the laptops of Iraqi insurgents, Wired said. The incident has again sounded an alarm on US military network security.
- Remote-controlled RAF drones killing Taliban kingpins at rate of one per week - Oct 28, 2010
- Al-Qaeda leader Al-Awlaki killed: Yemen - Sep 30, 2011
- White House confirms US drones in Ethiopia - Oct 29, 2011
- Drones in Afghanistan suffer frequent system failures: Pentagon report - Jul 07, 2010
- Anwar al-Awlaki calls for more terror attacks on West in new video - Sep 30, 2010
- US wants to sell drones to India - Dec 15, 2011
- Yemen charges US-born radical cleric Al-Awlaki for first time - Nov 03, 2010
- Al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki sentenced to ten years in prison - Jan 17, 2011
- Official cites terror threat to justify targeting Americans - Mar 06, 2012
- US gives up plan to retrieve drone downed in Iran: Report - Dec 08, 2011
- New stealth drones flew into Pakistan to see Osama house - May 18, 2011
- US testing deadlier, stealthier drones - Jan 11, 2011
- Fighting the Taliban with a remote control - Jul 24, 2009
- Al Qaeda providing free electricity in Yemen - May 03, 2012
- 'Lone wolf' terror plotter arrested in New York - Nov 21, 2011
Tags: afghanistan pakistan, al qaeda, anwar al awlaki, chiefs, classified information, cockpits, computer virus, drone aircraft, enemy targets, iraqi insurgents, keystroke, military network, mountainous areas, network security, predator, reaper drones, security system, unmanned aircraft, war zones, xinhua