Two computer security experts have developed a 6,200 dollar home-made drone that is capable of launching airborne cyber attacks and hijacking mobile phone calls. The Daily Mail quoted Richard Perkins and Mike Tassey as saying at the DefCon hacking conference in Las Vegas at the weekend that the Wireless Aerial Surveillance Platform (WASP) was constructed from a former U.S. Army target drone.
They claimed that the customized aircraft can find and track internet hotspots and mobile phones.
It can also identify unsecured online gateways and then exploit these to launch cyber attacks on computer systems.
The craft can also capture GMS mobile PIN numbers that can then be used to pay for outgoing calls, allow hackers to eavesdrop on conversations and even impersonate mobile phone towers.
Perkins said: "It will fly a plotted course and return to base. We loaded it up with the ability to attack wi-fi, Bluetooth, and GSM cellular networks."
The bright yellow Wasp weighs just 14 pounds and its inventors claimed that their inspiration was to force the computer industry into realizing that anybody has access to the materials to make such a hi-tech device. (ANI)