Computer virus hits US' Predator drone fleet

Not even the United States' drone fleet is safe from computer viruses, with its Predator and Reaper drones infected by keylogging software. The keyloggers record pilots' keystrokes as the Predator and Reaper drones remotely fly missions over Afghanistan and other war zones, tech site Wired reported. “We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back. We think it’s benign. But we just don’t know," Wired quoted a source familiar with the network infection as saying. However, it has so far not prevented pilots at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada from flying their missions overseas. The report said the virus was first detected nearly two weeks ago by the military’s Host-Based Security System. Wired said there has so far not been any confirmed incident of classified information being lost or sent to an outside source. For now, technicians at Creech are trying to get the virus off the machines. Wired said the Air Force declined to comment directly on the virus. “We generally do not discuss specific vulnerabilities, threats, or responses to our computer networks, since that helps people looking to exploit or attack our systems to refine their approach," it quoted Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis, a spokesman for Air Combat Command, as saying. Roles of drones in US Air Force Drones have become a tool of choice of the US in its conventional and shadow wars, allowing US forces to attack targets and spy without risking American lives. Since President Barack Obama II assumed office, a fleet of about 30 CIA-directed drones have hit targets in Pakistan more than 230 times. Wired cited a report from the Washington Post showing these drones have killed more than 2,000 suspected militants and civilians. More than 150 additional Predator and Reaper drones, under U.S. Air Force control, watch over the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. Late last month, an American drone killed top terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki — part of an escalating unmanned air assault in the Horn of Africa and southern Arabian peninsula. Just an accident? The Wired report said military network security specialists are still not sure if the virus and its so-called “keylogger" payload were introduced intentionally or by accident. It added specialists are sure the infection has hit both classified and unclassified machines at Creech, indicating secret data may have been captured by the keylogger, and then transmitted over the Internet. Predator and Reaper crews use removable hard drives to load map updates and transport mission videos from one computer to another. The virus is believed to have spread through these removable drives. Drone units at other Air Force bases worldwide have now been ordered to stop their use. Potential security flaws Despite their widespread use, the drone systems are known to have security flaws, Wired said. It said many Reapers and Predators do not encrypt the video they transmit to American troops on the ground. — TJD, GMA News