Air Force deems drone virus more nuisance than threat
The Air Force stated on Oct. 12 that the virus that recently infected the remote cockpits of its fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles operating over war zones was swiftly and easily contained.
The Air Force stated on Oct. 12 that the virus that recently infected the remote cockpits of its fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles operating over war zones was swiftly and easily contained, reports Noah Shachtman at Wired’s Danger Room blog.
The service said in an official statement that the malware was “more of a nuisance than an operational threat,” and added that systems used to operate armed Predator and Reaper UAVs from Creech Air Force Base, Nev., “remained secure throughout the incident.”
The Air Force also countered media reports that its cybersecurity unit, the 24th Air Force, was unaware of the incident until October, stating that its cyber sleuths had detected the malware on Sept. 15 and immediately begun forensics to sweep the virus from Air Force systems.
However, the statement did not say that the cleanup process had been completed, the blog noted.