Will MAV being hijacked via others telemetry?

Yeah, probably the biggest problem with the 3dr radios is that they don't have any encryption or security. It would be very easy to hijack one.

You could easily write a script or firmware to scan through the netids until the radios sync or you pick up a heartbeat packet. Since there are reference designs and commercial models using the same radio chip which put out 1-4W of power someone could easily overpower your signal, even from a long distance away, and jack your drone.

Someone with a cheap SDR could also listen for signals from the SiLabs chip and likely decode the netid from the frequency/pattern, which would save them even the effort of scanning through the netids.

Right now your only protection is probably turning off the autopilot using your RC radio controller. That's probably why there hasn't been much effort in using the 3dr radios for flight control.

FWIW, I haven't checked out the firmware lately, so it's possible they've already fixed this gaping hole and safety issue.

A terrorist, vandal, or other criminal could jack your drone, then crash it into somebody/something and cause quite a bit of trouble for everyone involved. If they attached explosives, a grenade, or even a firework like a roman candle it could be quite a big terrorism incident... and you'd be left to blame for the whole thing. Given that lipos also tend to explode into fire when damaged, it's not hard to imagine that quite a bit of damage could be done.

Replies

Jake Stew June 16, 2014 at 3:16pm

Yeah, probably the biggest problem with the 3dr radios is that they don't have any encryption or security. It would be very easy to hijack one.

You could easily write a script or firmware to scan through the netids until the radios sync or you pick up a heartbeat packet. Since there are reference designs and commercial models using the same radio chip which put out 1-4W of power someone could easily overpower your signal, even from a long distance away, and jack your drone.

Someone with a cheap SDR could also listen for signals from the SiLabs chip and likely decode the netid from the frequency/pattern, which would save them even the effort of scanning through the netids.

Right now your only protection is probably turning off the autopilot using your RC radio controller. That's probably why there hasn't been much effort in using the 3dr radios for flight control.

FWIW, I haven't checked out the firmware lately, so it's possible they've already fixed this gaping hole and safety issue.

A terrorist, vandal, or other criminal could jack your drone, then crash it into somebody/something and cause quite a bit of trouble for everyone involved. If they attached explosives, a grenade, or even a firework like a roman candle it could be quite a big terrorism incident... and you'd be left to blame for the whole thing. Given that lipos also tend to explode into fire when damaged, it's not hard to imagine that quite a bit of damage could be done.
kkpoon June 7, 2014 at 8:18am

That's great. Thanks for your test. Look forward to your result.
After lost contact to my "MH 370", I have one pixhawk left. I cannot afford the impact of losing this one.
F. C. Bearsch June 7, 2014 at 6:26am

I was wondering this myself, however each radio does have a pairing function on intial setup but it seems to just connect... Interesting in seeing if anyone else responds...

I have two sets of radios, and two computers I can try to see if I can take control , or do as you described, give me a few days though as I need to get a few projects finished first

This reply was deleted.

Discussions

Will MAV being hijacked via others telemetry?

Replies

Activity