How the Iranians Downed That U.S. Drone
The Iranians downed a U.S. drone. Okay, so it's old news. Then again, I'm not so sure many of us understand just how they did it - and why it's so important to understand how they did it.
When I first heard the report, I thought somehow the drone failed and crashed; or maybe the Iranians somehow shot it down. But then I realized that a) no one had ever shot a drone down - at least not that I was aware of and b) the drones fly pretty high up there: so what did the Iranians use to get to it?
Maybe I just wasn't paying close attention - or maybe it was that the media focus took on a "war party" feel. The discussion seemed centered on "how dare the Iranians do this; this shows how threatening these people are to America; they're egging us on to go to war" - at least that's what it sounded like to me. There wasn't much discussion - at least at first - of exactly how the Iranians downed the drone. And how they did it is really more important than that they did it.
When I learned that the Iranians somehow screwed around with the drone's software and got it to land safely, without much, if any damage, I understood two things: first, they're going to not only figure out how the thing works, but they can sell that knowledge to others (Russia? China?); second, and even more important, this is a clear instance of cyber-war. It's here and getting to be a bigger, greater threat than I had realized.
With all that swirls around us these days, the threat of cyberwar isn't always front page news. But it may very well be something we all should start worrying about and preparing for.
For example, former Secretary of Defense William Lynn III told the Council on Foreign Relations (emphasis mine), “The cyber threat is here now, and the U.S. needs to confront it. Civilian critical infrastructure is also at risk. Computer-induced failure of our power grids, transportation system, or financial sector could lead to physical damage and economic disruption on a massive scale. Our intellectual property also stands to be taken. The defense industry has been targeted. Designs for key weapons systems have been stolen. The threat to intellectual property housed by our universities and companies is less dramatic than a cyber attack on our infrastructure. But it may over the long term be the most significant cyber threat we have.”
I don't know. Maybe coming from a former Defense Department official, it's just the military beating the drum for more money. The again, the infamous Stuxnet virus - the virus that screwed up Iran's nuclear centrifuges a while back - was a cyber-war weapon. Oh, and then there are those rumors that the highly improbably failure of the electric grid in 2003 (remember that?) was a kind of "test" by foreign powers (Russia? China?) to see if they could bring down the grid. And let's not forget the admission that our public utilities most probably already have imbedded viruses that can't be "disarmed" and whose purpose in intent is unknown (you've heard about that, right?).
Add all that up and you've got one huge threat not only hanging out there, but going on right now all around us. Then add in all the cyber-crime that takes place everyday and -well, if you're not considering what you need to do to defend yourself from cyber-criminals and cyber-warriors, it's time to start...like RIGHT NOW. Ya think?
When I first heard the report, I thought somehow the drone failed and crashed; or maybe the Iranians somehow shot it down. But then I realized that a) no one had ever shot a drone down - at least not that I was aware of and b) the drones fly pretty high up there: so what did the Iranians use to get to it?
Maybe I just wasn't paying close attention - or maybe it was that the media focus took on a "war party" feel. The discussion seemed centered on "how dare the Iranians do this; this shows how threatening these people are to America; they're egging us on to go to war" - at least that's what it sounded like to me. There wasn't much discussion - at least at first - of exactly how the Iranians downed the drone. And how they did it is really more important than that they did it.
When I learned that the Iranians somehow screwed around with the drone's software and got it to land safely, without much, if any damage, I understood two things: first, they're going to not only figure out how the thing works, but they can sell that knowledge to others (Russia? China?); second, and even more important, this is a clear instance of cyber-war. It's here and getting to be a bigger, greater threat than I had realized.
With all that swirls around us these days, the threat of cyberwar isn't always front page news. But it may very well be something we all should start worrying about and preparing for.
For example, former Secretary of Defense William Lynn III told the Council on Foreign Relations (emphasis mine), “The cyber threat is here now, and the U.S. needs to confront it. Civilian critical infrastructure is also at risk. Computer-induced failure of our power grids, transportation system, or financial sector could lead to physical damage and economic disruption on a massive scale. Our intellectual property also stands to be taken. The defense industry has been targeted. Designs for key weapons systems have been stolen. The threat to intellectual property housed by our universities and companies is less dramatic than a cyber attack on our infrastructure. But it may over the long term be the most significant cyber threat we have.”
I don't know. Maybe coming from a former Defense Department official, it's just the military beating the drum for more money. The again, the infamous Stuxnet virus - the virus that screwed up Iran's nuclear centrifuges a while back - was a cyber-war weapon. Oh, and then there are those rumors that the highly improbably failure of the electric grid in 2003 (remember that?) was a kind of "test" by foreign powers (Russia? China?) to see if they could bring down the grid. And let's not forget the admission that our public utilities most probably already have imbedded viruses that can't be "disarmed" and whose purpose in intent is unknown (you've heard about that, right?).
Add all that up and you've got one huge threat not only hanging out there, but going on right now all around us. Then add in all the cyber-crime that takes place everyday and -well, if you're not considering what you need to do to defend yourself from cyber-criminals and cyber-warriors, it's time to start...like RIGHT NOW. Ya think?
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