Sometimes I get a little frightened when I think of all the technology the military has at their fingertips. The technology we know about (Predators) and the technology we don’t (Ion Cannons).

Then I remember: It’s the military. Same guys who do crap like this.

Recently the military did something that most people today know how to do even, if they don’t understand why.

Ever turn your WiFi router on were able to see all your neighbors signals, and then you noticed one was unencrypted and you were like, “hmm, free Internet”? Well that is what a bunch of Iraqi Insurgents did recently. Although slightly more complicated, and using $26 dollar piece of software, these insurgents were able to tap into a Predator Drone’s video feed.

For those of you who don’t know what a Predator drone is, it’s an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), used for reconnaissance (recon) and some attack missions. It’s flown remotely via a computer screen and a joystick, sort of like playing a multi-million dollar flight simulator, but if you crash, you get fired.

Well to access the UAV’s video feed, the military uses an unencrypted wireless signal. Yup! no password. So there really wasn’t any hacking involved. Although little details were revealed, I’m guessing the software the insurgents used probably only searched for the frequency the signal was being sent across.

My guess is the military’s still using 802.11 a/b. Score one for the Red White and Blue.

Here’s the full article from the Wall Street Journal. Enjoy.

Just so you know, I realize that this was done by the US Air Force, but it is still a branch of the military and I use that term in a general sense to get my point across. Enjoy.