Hacking Drone Warfare

Drone warfare is a prominent feature of modern conflicts, specifically between Russia and Ukraine. Drones, remote controllers, supporting infrastructure, as well as drone defense capabilities are complex, software-enabled systems that present a vast attack surface exploitable by adversaries. While details of real-life incidents are scarce, the ongoing war in Ukraine offers some empirical evidence that helps better understand the cyber dimension of modern drone warfare. This talk will provide an analysis of the cyber aspects of the use of FPV drones by Russian and Ukrainian forces, including the development of custom firmware, the alleged deployment of malware and BadUSB on drones to prevent their reuse by the adversary, and cyber attacks that disrupted Russian volunteer projects helping to rewire drones for war.