

Get Hacked, Don’t Tell: Drone Base Didn’t Report Virus - mcantelon
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/10/drone-virus-kept-quiet/

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dasil003
The plan to build a single centralized overseeing system doesn't seem to be
the smartest choice security-wise.

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wladimir
Amen. But it will probably take a full-scale war to make people (and nations)
aware of the security implications of armed remote-controlled robots. Some of
them we can only guess at.

Future war: nations will hack each other's drones and use those drones to
attack their owner? (or a third party, to provoke counter-attack)

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JonnieCache
Maybe we can have special drones to hack and take over other drones. That'd be
pretty cool in a command and conquer sort of way.

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Iv
Does anyone else think this is a windows infection, and that this OS should be
banned in sensitive areas ?

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JonnieCache
That would be security theatre. Any actually dangerous attack on systems such
as these is likely to be bespoke, like stuxnet. Therefore the platform doesn't
matter.

Also, it shouldn't be too hard to create a virus that could spread via windows
PCs but still carried a linux payload, for example.

As soon as you're up against bespoke, targeted attacks, the whole game
changes.

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sek
You are right, but Linux is superior here, because it is open source and you
know everything about it. For Windows you can simply buy a 0day and that's it.
When you write something for Linux, you can't be sure the targeted program is
even on the distribution.

The NSA has excellent experience when it comes to secure UNIX systems. They
published a very long RedHead guide somewhere, was posted on HN some time ago.

But in reality there is no way they share their knowledge, totally different
organization and different contractor so synergies are lost for sure. How much
energy would be saved when you don't try to reinvent the wheel every time.

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binarymax
I believe you mean this:
<http://www.nsa.gov/ia/_files/os/redhat/rhel5-guide-i731.pdf>

Regardless, if its a _targeted_ attack you can probably figure out whats on
the system you are targeting.

