It turned out that intelligence agencies intercepted camera images of military drones using open source software

Military drone (unmanned aerial vehicle) that flying unattended to the enemy territory with the mission of reconnaissance and attacks is to be put into the scene of war and conflict, but the "spy activity" about war is also such It is now time to target drones. Former NSA (US National Security Agency) The staff member Edward Snowden's published material at The Interceptor suggests that US and British government agencies intercepted the signals of military drone used in conflict areas such as Israel and Syria, Among them, it is clear that open source software which is open to the public widely and widely is used.

Israeli Drone Feeds Hacked By British and American Intelligence
https://theintercept.com/2016/01/28/israeli-drone-feeds-hacked-by-british-and-american-intelligence/

NSA, GCHQ used open source software to spy on Israeli, Syrian drones | Ars Technica
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/01/nsa-gchq-used-open-source-software-to-spy-on-israeli-syrian-drones/

According to the material that Mr. Snowden brought to The Intercept, there is evidence that a military strategy to reconnaiss drone used in Israel, Syria and other countries and regions for a long time was carried out It is said that it is. This strategy is gathering information on domestic and overseas in the UKGovernment Communications Headquarters(Government Communications Headquarters:GCHQ) Was under the cooperation of the American NSA and was supposed to have been called the codename "Anarchist" (anarchist).

In this operation GCHQ intercepted the scrambled (encrypted) analog image transmitted by Drone, and at the same time he was tracking the drone's flight route. In some cases, it is said that Israeli fighter aircraft intercepted images taken during the attack operation.


Interception activities by government agencies were revealed, but it is also known that open source software that anyone can acquire the technology behind it was used. NSA and GCHQ analysts were using the open source software for manipulating image files "ImageMagickIt was said that it was. Also, open source software which invalidates the scrambling process which the commercial satellite is placing on the video "AntiSky"Was also being injected into the codename · Anarchist. However, these strategies are said to have increased the difficulty as the signal from the drone shifted to digital.

The radio waves from the drone were intercepted at GCHQ's interception station at the British Air Force facility built in the Troodos mountains located in Cyprus. The Interceptor reports that this facility was built to intercept satellite and radio-based communications in the Mediterranean east coast - North Africa region such as Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt.


The video that was actually intercepted is mainly the low resolution video that was filmed to grasp the state of the drone body. GCHQ and NSA said that it was possible to estimate the dragon's body weight etc. from this video, but it seems that it was not able to intercept the confidential data actually acquired by Drone. The following image shows the drone "Israeli Defense Forces operated"IAI Heron"Although it is from the image captured by the camera, it is said that this image is specifically shown for the first time that the Israeli army is operating a drone armed.


IAI Heron is a medium-sized military drone capable of raising to 9000 meters altitude and capable of continuous flight for about 40 hours. In 2014Announced that the Korean Army selected the aircraftdoing.

MULTI-ROLE STRATEGIC MALE UAS HERON
http://www.iai.co.il/2013/18900-16382-en/IAI.aspx


In addition, the images captured by the Israeli F-16 fighter plane were also intercepted. The following images are those described in the NSA's internal document that the F-16 fighter was flying over the Gaza Strip in the January 2008 strategy.


In addition, the NSA was also targeting intercepts for Drone of the Iraq rebel army. The signal of the "low tech" drones, which seems to have been manufactured in Iran, is a Russian satellite internet communication intercepting software "Russian" which is commercially available only for several thousand yenSkyGrabber"It was said that it was being searched from 2008 to 2009 using"

However, these intercept activities have increased difficulty after video signals are digitized and transmitted together with other data. The GCHQ analyst also found out that he was submitting a report saying that communication technology became difficult due to modernization.