A couple of years ago I broke into quite a few wifi networks with the hacking toos Kismet and Aircrack running on a linux notebook with an appropriate antenna. 80% success within 5 minutes. I'm guessing hacking a phantom with this setup would be possible too. But honestly, who would attempt this. I have never seen a phantom anywere in my area.

swomilan.email Posted at 2015-2-4 11:21
Has your question been answered or do you need more info vtmarvin?
You are the one that started th ...

Hi, I think that answer is Yes - there is a way to hijack the drone.
I am sorry if my question started a flamewar ... I just wanted to know.

vtmarvin Posted at 2015-2-5 04:10
Hi, I think that answer is Yes - there is a way to hijack the drone.
I am sorry if my question sta ...

is there such a thing as a wifi device that cannot be hacked?  ive never heard of that.  i guess what i am asking is that if all you wanted to know was is it possible, then i dont know how anyone would ever think otherwise.  the flamewar was about how likely it was (ie whether folks should worry about it) not whether it was possible.  

vtmarvin Posted at 2015-2-5 04:10
Hi, I think that answer is Yes - there is a way to hijack the drone.
I am sorry if my question sta ...

Hi VTmarvin,
you haven't started a flame war, just come across our fun soufle made from some opposing opinions sprinkled with a little humor here and there.  That's what makes our little gatherings so much fun! (and we all learn something occasionally!
Cheers!
Rod

vtmarvin Posted at 2015-2-5 04:10
Hi, I think that answer is Yes - there is a way to hijack the drone.
I am sorry if my question sta ...

No need to be sorry, you asked a legit question

Salud

gnixon2015 Posted at 2015-2-4 20:56
and i am similarly amazed how people ignore statistical probability and counter it with statements  ...

Nix, No harm no foul. All I will say is I have personally seen things that most people don't think is possible of would never believe someone or people would do.

Do I know of  recreational drones being hijacked? No. Do I know of non hobby drones, satellites, WiFi, RF links, cell towers etc being compromised? Yes. Could I  control your drone or interupt it's flight without having to stand close enough to you for you to see me ? Yes.

When something becomes plentyful, accessible, profitable or trendy it gets exploited by criminals, law enforcement, thrill seekers or the government. That's a fact. It happens. Somethings are done for money some things are done for fun and sometimes things are done for reasons people will never understand.

I know a number of people here think of me as a jerk and  tinfoil hat wearer,  and thats OK. But if you knew me you would know how far from the truth that is. (Well I might be a bit of a jerk).

Safe flying and may your drone always  come home.

yes, jato, i totally agree that the more commonplace it become, the higher the statistical likelihood goes.  on that we do agree.  but was just clarifying that i have more statistically significant things to worry about every day (currently at least) than my drone being hacked even though it is possible.  and you have been a great guy on this forum so i dont mind disagreeing (even arguing a bit) with decent people.  some others around, er um, not so much if you get my drift.

I think a Phantom is more-likely to get stolen from the house or Jeep... or even at gunpoint while I prepare to fly it.  
So... I'll worry about THAT, instead.

Yes the Phantom is vulnerable to Hijacking. I have seen verifiable Videos of car systems (ECU Controls) where the cars management system has been compromised.

Just about everything that has electronics in it these days can be hacked.

The real question and concern is not about hijacking because who in reality would want to do that.

The bigger concern is as the publicity about drones increases, what crazies out they want to make them drop from the sky by jamming.

I have lost aircraft in the past in a flying club as some people made mistakes in the flight process. Remember the flight boards where you used to lock you frequency with your members card in the fight board. Somebody would slot their card in the wrong slot by mistake and power up their transmitter and knock you down.

Jamming technologies are freely available, have a look at the cell phone jammers they use in Cinemas, to disable access to cell phones while you are in the cinema.

Given we fly in public places and not at flying clubs we are more susceptible to shoot downs than hijackers.

Cheers

Just to chime in.  JATO hit the nail on the head.  It is possible and has already been done.  Maybe right now it isn't likely but that will change.  If you have had the unfortunate task of removing malware from a PC you will know just how possible things are to get hacked and sometimes without any user intervention.  I can't tell you how many times I have removed malware from a PC simply because an ad on a website was a payload for malware or a scripting injection was added to a website that now you only had to visit the page to become infected, provided your flash player or other updates were not current.  The owners of the computers didn't believe it either.  Some of them were even Technology workers...

Eventually it will make main stream media about how some turd hacked a phantom and sent it off out of range or into a building...

Again, not likely now, but it will happen and DJI should address it at some point.

When I was a teenager it wasn't likely  that you could make free long distance calls from a $200 computer, but we did.  It wasn't likely that your computer could dial out hundreds of numbers looking for sprint access points and discovering long distance codes but we did. You didn't need much experience at all just the right tools.  Someone will make the right tools available someday that makes it easy for anyone with a computer or mobile device and wifi to hack your Phantom in flight.  Just a matter of time.  

I have to admit that I would like some form of crypto on my drones just so that if they get lost and someone finds it, they won't be able to use it without knowing my user account and password. I know I have to enter these to use the DJI software but I don't think it extends to the drone itself. Hacking of the drone when it is in the air is not much of a worry but they could still get hacked as if they were a regular computer if they connect to a network. It is not that someone would take over the drone and fly it away. It is more likely that you would find your drone trying to send out thousands of emails or hack your other computers when connected to your network.

If someone found your Phantom and they had their own transmitter, all they would have to do is bind their own transmitter to the Phantom and then bind their range extender to the camera.

grangerfx.gmail Posted at 2015-2-7 04:01
I have to admit that I would like some form of crypto on my drones just so that if they get lost and ...

nah your account information is with the app and not saved to the Phantom so no worry there.

It amazes me how childish some people can be on forums, and THAT is what drives a lot of people away due to the drama that it creates.  This thread can be summed up by the following and ignore the rest of the pissing match.

VTMARVIN ask if Phantoms are vulnerable to hijacking attacks.

Many responded with the likelihood of it happening being VERY VERY small, but swomilan.hotmai gave proof that even given the small likelihood of it happening, that it is in fact possible, and gave a detailed description of how to do it.  

I personally agree with both sides....  Yes, it is highly unlikely, but yes it is possible.  Given the odds, I am not going to bother worrying about it,  however keep an eye out in the future because as these become more popular and once one person successfully steals one, hackers and thieves WILL be on it like SPAM e-mail.  Do you really believe people send money to those "insert any ridiculous e-mail here"?  Seems stupid to most of us, but believe it or not, it happens or they wouldn't be doing it.  Yes, I work in IT and I see a lot of ridiculous thing happen that seem so basic to the rest of us.