US Air Force Will Allow Hackers To Target Its Satellite By Any Means

Anil - Sep 29, 2019

For the US government, relying on hackers to find security bugs is not something weird.

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At the annual hacking conference "DEF CON 27", the US Air Force talked up about its data system from F-15 fighter aircraft. Aside from that, they also posed a challenge for security professionals in addressing system vulnerabilities. This is the first time experts outside the US Air Force have been allowed to access a military system for "hacking" purposes.

In a two-day period, seven security hackers found out several fatal flaws that likely intended to cripple the data system of Trusted Aircraft Information Download Station. However, the US Air Force previously anticipated such outcomes when these hackers could make use of several back doors that they had already known, according to a US Air Force official.

It seems that the US Air Force officials have realized the presence of security exploits after years of neglecting security issues. Therefore, they would expect the security bugs to be cleaned and eliminated as soon as possible. Because the military system software is made by contractors, they might not want their products to have any room for improvement in the testing phase.

It is understandable that many countries did not tend to share their innovations and technological developments like what happened during the Cold War. But now, keeping an open-minded attitude regarding technological development and advance seems to be much beneficial for countries than ever.

For the US government, relying on hackers to find security bugs is not something weird. For instance, the "Hack the Air Force/Military/Pentagon" competitions have helped the officials to gain intensive insights and deep understanding of cybersecurity issues that individual organizations may encounter during their operations.

According to Wired, the US Air Force is also preparing for DEF CON 28 as they will continue to let hackers approach a satellite of the U.S. Defense Department in any possible way. The goal of this action, reported by Will Roper, is to get access to a satellite-mounted camera and retrieve lunar imagery data then ultimately win the 'bug bounty' award.