Security Concerns of UAVs

One major security concern of UAVs is the unencrypted video feeds they emit. This issue became apparent in 2009 when U.S. forces “had discovered that insurgents in Iraq, using inexpensive, off-the-shelf software, had been able to hack into video feeds” from the Predator and Reaper UAVs (Nakashima, 2009, p. 10). If enough video feed is intercepted and archived, the U.S. military’s tactics and means of operation could be compromised (Nakashima, 2009, p. 10). Encryption of the UAV’s video feed is not expected to reach completion until 2014, which according to former Air Force secretary Michael Wynne is “too late” (Nakashima, 2009, p. 9).