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$26 of Software Defeats American Military

reporter writes "A computer program that can be easily purchased for $25.95 off the Internet can read and store the data transmitted on an unsecured channel by an unmanned drone. Drones are crucial to American military operations, for these aerial vehicles enable Washington to conduct war with a reduced number of soldiers. '... the intercepts could give America's enemies battlefield advantages by removing the element of surprise from certain missions and making it easier for insurgents to determine which roads and buildings are under US surveillance.'"

4 of 534 comments (clear)

  1. Re:$26 is a lot by jimicus · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    It's not even a particularly original strategy. The British used to employ almost identical tactics back in the late 19th/early 20th century. Back then, the prerequisite of a British campaign was that the enemy should under no circumstances carry guns -- even spears made us think twice. The kind of people we liked to fight were two feet tall and armed with dry grass.

  2. Re:$26 is a lot by ultranova · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    If you're referring to Afghanistan, the US didn't pick that fight.

    Yes, it did. Not that the Taliban didn't have it coming, but the USA was still the attacker.

    The pathetic thing here is that Taliban, Al-Qaida and bin Laden are all still alive and at large, so it could be argued that the US actually lost, failing to meet its goals for the invasion.

    If you're referring to Iraq, they are/were quite a few steps out of the stone age.

    They do seem to be quite primitive, actually, considering how quickly their defense collapsed, and how few casualties the attacker suffered.

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    Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

  3. Re:$26 is a lot by Rogerborg · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    You forgot Vietnam, where the US put up a brave guerilla resistance and eventually won an amazing victory against the overwhelmingly superior technology and training of the British. I mean, North Vietnamese Army.

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    If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
  4. Re:$26 is a lot by jimicus · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I know, but I was hoping to be modded insightful which would have been hard if I'd admitted I was shamelessly quoting from a sitcom.