Android apps used by the US military in combat have security holes

According to a report from the US Navy Inspector General, two applications are used in direct combat situations of the US military containing serious vulnerabilities. Hackers can take advantage of these vulnerabilities to attack and gain access to soldiers' information.

These applications are used by the US military because they provide real-time messaging capabilities to coordinate with other military units. In addition, they can display mission information and objectives, satellite images of surrounding areas including prominent locations of enemies and nearby allied forces.

Android apps used by the US military in combat have security holes Picture 1
Application interface used by the US military.Source: YouTube.

Two applications in this report are provided to military members through the app store managed by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, including:

1. KILSWITCH (Kinetic Integrated Low-Cost Software Integrated Tactical Handheld Combat): Kinetic low-cost integrated tactical handheld device.
2. APASS (Android Precision Assault Strike Suite): Android's suite of accurate attack applications.

Android apps used by the US military in combat have security holes Picture 2

Initially these applications were only used for training exercises, so the security factor was not taken seriously. But due to the beautiful interface and attractive features, these applications are increasingly used in the US military and allied forces, even in direct combat situations.

It is worth noting that some people have warned about security issues in these two applications more than 1 year ago but have been ignored.

Specifically, Anthony Kim, a civil analyst of the program for the Naval Weapons Division (NAWCWD), discovered and worried about the security of these applications from March 2017. But when he wants to take the issue to a higher level, it is prevented, even punished (lowering wages, revealing security levels).

After the report, Anthony Kim was vindicated and restored the security level.

See more:

1. Facebook has a serious bug again, causing personal photos of 6.8 million users to be shared for 1,500 applications
2. Google decided to close Google+ four months earlier because it discovered a new vulnerability that left 52 million users leaked
3. Messages 'ghost' appear on Gmail