Computer Virus Infects U.S. Predator, Reaper Drones

A mysterious computer virus has infected the Predator and Reaper drones of the U.S. Military.

ZoomAccording to a report published by Wired, the Virus was first found about two weeks ago and was several times removed from the systems. However, the virus keeps coming back and there appears to be no solution how to effectively get rid of it.

The virus did not prevent pilots at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada from flying the drones, but sources told Wired that the virus is logging every keystroke.

“We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back,” one source said. “We think it’s benign. But we just don’t know.”

There is no information where the virus came from and how far it has spread. However, security specialists believe that the virus has had access to "both classified and unclassified machines."

The virus was apparently detected by the military's Host Based Security System (HBSS), which is used by the Department of Defense to detect cyber threats such as malware.

At the very least, the virus' activity as a keylogger appears to be suspicious, especially since the software of the drones have been previously targeted and attackers were able to intercept video transmissions with software that can be purchased for less than $30.