Two Android Apps Used In Combat By US Troops Contained Severe Vulnerabilities (zdnet.com) 54
According to a Navy Inspector General report, U.S. military troops used two Android apps that contained severe vulnerabilities in live combat scenarios. "The two apps are named KILSWITCH (Kinetic Integrated Low-Cost Software Integrated Tactical Combat Handheld) and APASS (Android Precision Assault Strike Suite)," reports ZDNet. From the report: Both apps work by showing satellite imagery of surroundings, including objectives, mission goals, nearby enemy and friendly forces. The two apps work as a modern-day replacement for radios and paper maps and allow troops to use a real-time messaging client to coordinate with other military branches, and even call in air-strike support with a few simple screen taps, according to a DARPA press release and accompanying YouTube video. The apps have been under development since 2012 and starting 2015, they have been made generally available to all U.S. troops via a public app store managed by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. But according to a Navy Inspector General report from March that was made public today, both apps contained vulnerabilities that could have allowed enemy forces access to troops' information.
The heavily redacted report doesn't detail the nature of the two vulnerabilities, but it does point out that the Navy had failed to control the distribution of these two applications, and later failed to act in warning troops of the danger they were in for almost a year. The report says that the two apps, KILSWITCH and APASS, were never meant or approved to be deployed in live combat zones. But the two apps, because of their flashy features and easier to use interface, became wildly popular among U.S. troops, but also other military branches, including foreign allied forces.
The heavily redacted report doesn't detail the nature of the two vulnerabilities, but it does point out that the Navy had failed to control the distribution of these two applications, and later failed to act in warning troops of the danger they were in for almost a year. The report says that the two apps, KILSWITCH and APASS, were never meant or approved to be deployed in live combat zones. But the two apps, because of their flashy features and easier to use interface, became wildly popular among U.S. troops, but also other military branches, including foreign allied forces.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
It's fake news. For one, you don't take security hazards like an Android into battle and two, you don't ADVERTISE it's flaws to your adversaries on the news if they were real. Some poor SOB's in a tent are gonna be trying to download these apps to hack, and WHAM, a MOAB drops on them out of nowhere.
Things are not what they seem under the fog of war.
Airstrikes for car dealers & payday lenders? (Score:5, Funny)
"call in air-strike support with a few simple screen taps" ...
"The two apps, KILSWITCH and APASS, were never meant or approved to be deployed in combat zones."
So it has an "airstrike" button, but it was never meant to be used in war zones. Where, exactly was it meant to be used? I suppose it would be useful for handling used car dealers and pay day lenders?
Re:Airstrikes for car dealers & payday lenders (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
War games.
They almost certainly meant that it had been approved for use in exercises and war games in order to evaluate it with the intent of determining whether it would be approved for use in combat, but had not yet approved it's use in combat situations likely in fear of problems like this exact vulnerability.
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Coming soon to the call in list.
Fighter Combat
Guerrilla Engagement
Desert Warfare
Air-To-Ground Actions
Theaterwide Tactical Warfare
Theaterwide Biotoxic And Chemical Warfare
Global Thermonuclear War
Re:Mind Boggling Idiocy (Score:4, Informative)
For every 10 triggerpuller "Failed jock-strap douche bags" as you put it, there is a literal army of support personnel. An infantryman is not fooling around with tech like this, that's commos job, and the reason their not all dead is in part because commo don't fuck around with toys like this.
As a commo guy who has deployed to Afghanistan during OEF, I can tell you... The toys are all compromised. Every piece of tech not deemed mission critical is 100% owned by all of the pirated entertainment that gets shuffled around in theater. Every soldier on an outpost has a laptop with enough pirated holywood content on it to shame even the most unabashed pirate back home. It's all traded like baseball cards, and run on any damn thing with a screen that can be found.
Cam rips are "publicly" screened in the USO lounge in Khandahar. There are some real tools that get real field usage, but your not going to read about them on slashdot.
I was given the chance to"Demo" a lot of this kind of toy. At the end of the day they all have the same problem. Reliability. Real fighting men don't use these stupid toys for the same reason they take the scope off their rifle when qualifying with it. They can't be trusted when it counts.
Also, fuck you, you whimpy little bitch. The failed jockstrap douche eating dirt on the other side of the planet is why your ass is still speaking english.
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The esprit de corps becomes a need for entertainment and how to share entertainment.
US mil networks and computers are then used to "attempt" to copy any new entertainment.
With their own unlimited entertainment that need to be distracted to look for entertainment is reduced.
People feel more happy in the US mil and might even stay longer in the US mil as they have their own entertainment when not on duty.
Bad t
Re: Mind Boggling Idiocy (Score:1)
Why not just pay Hollywood fifty dollars per movie per soldier and riaa five dollars per single per soldier. Per play, obviously.
Is it because the copyright industry has abused copyright in pricing their goods? Why not scale it back then instead of letting special people ignore the law?
Re: Mind Boggling Idiocy (Score:2)
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Low wages and poor working conditions made any person/conversation off base seem a wonderful escape at the end of a long day.
Soviet spies filled the local area as new local "friends".
The fix was to improve condition on base.
Better wages.
To ensure skilled workers on base did not have lifestyle issues before getting trusted to work globally.
It took years and a lot of study to learn why spies could start friendships with staff who got told not to t
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COMMunincations Officer most likely.
(alternatively COMmunist hoMOsexual but I kind of doubt GP would admit being called that one)
Re:Mind Boggling Idiocy (Score:5, Insightful)
As for soldiers using them, you’re only partly right. They will use these toys if they are deemed useful (the article suggests that this is the case). However if something gets in the way, the software doesn’t work, the network is down or there is a hardware issue, they will drop them in a heartbeat and fall back on other tools. Its not an aversion to high tech (on the contrary, they are just as eager to try new things as the rest of us are). Rather, it’s a low tolerance for defects. In the field, one does not have the time to fiddle around with iffy equipment.
Re: (Score:2, Troll)
The failed jockstrap douche eating dirt on the other side of the planet is why your ass is still speaking english.
It really isn't. That douche's primary job is to spread American imperialism and keep the world safe for Big Oil. It's the politicians, shockingly, that keep us out of war.
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The failed jockstrap douche eating dirt on the other side of the planet is why your ass is still speaking English.
I support the troops. In fact I did eight years in the reserve myself, including getting orders to Kuwait during Desert Storm (though my unit and I didn't actually go; that's a weird story), and many members of my family serve and have served in active duty, guard and reserve roles, including in active combat theaters. On Memorial Day we raise full-sized, period-appropriate flags over the graves of all of my ancestors who were veterans, and there are a lot of them.
So I'm not disrespecting the military whe
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For the vast majority of US history, US military power has all been about projecting power around the world
Hmm. I got a little overenthusiastic here. The US has only been projecting power around the world, really, since the late 19th and early 20th century. At this point that does constitute a majority of the years of the nation's existence, but not a "vast" majority.
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Huh? (Score:2)
Who the hell uses cell phone gadget programs (apps) in a life-critical situation? And why are troops in combat carrying cell phones at all? Both are ridiculous security risks, cell phones shouldn't be allowed to be carried at all.
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When I was deployed, a couple of idiot marines used personal cell phones to record themselves degrading prisoners by pissing on them and shit. Fkn stupids posted it to the net. I'm sure you can find it you care to wade through all of that hot garbage.
Personal cellphones possession became and instant article-15 the very next day. At least in my unit.
A few months prior to that, an infantryman butt-dialed his mother during a firefight and left an exciting voicemail. It made the American media and everything...
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The average IQ of the new troops is at that level that they can only understand the "apps" and GUI they have used for years.
One device lets US troops enjoy images, music and video clips too. Less battery packs and different tech to carry around.
The amount of weight US troops have to carry is getting too much given new politically correct relaxed fitness levels.
The new troops cant carry much so wight is saved by using one consumer GUI to do a lot more.
Teaching a new US mil only GUI wa
One is called ... (Score:5, Funny)
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Re: (Score:1)
Thei might, or they might not, but the same *or allmost same) copy/pastre comment in every discussion here does nothing but annoy people, so may I ask: what is the purpose of these posts?
Dual use network? (Score:2)
Want a new network for the US mil, build your own encrypted and secret network.
Let the spies use the "internet".
Don't let other nations spies and criminals find anything about your mil on the "internet".
track me not (Score:4, Funny)
is it really a problem? (Score:1)
Those names (Score:1)
Seems like the developers spent far more time coming up with cute acronyms for the app name than they did applying any military spec validation process. What was the DoD thinking signing off on these?
Encrypt the end-to-end communications channel (Score:2)
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