Police heli footage hacked?

[mickjoebill]

Promos for this documentary program "A Time Comes" state that footage from a police helicopter was "hacked" during microwave transmission and made available to Greenpeace who subsequently gave it to documentary maker Nick Broomfield for his documentary about direct action protesters who shut down a coal power station in 2007 by climbing its 200 meter high chimney.

The footage is innocent enough, any clues if it was hacked via microwave or copied from a in cockpit recording and made to look like it was hacked?

Encoding of data in 2007?

Link to story and promo.
Greenpeace hack Kent Police helicopter surveillance video (http://blog.use-ip.co.uk/greenpeace-hack-kent-police-helicopter-surveillance-video/)

R2hZKX6WSCg&eurl

Here is the whole show
<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Sidpgz8iGQ8&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Sidpgz8iGQ8&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>


mickjoebill

[RJC]

Given the transmission is an omnidirectional signal of some power, it could be picked up with the right equipment. Although some forces encrypt their microwave downlinks, so it may not have been possible to make sense of the downlink. Many aircraft have the ability to turn this on and off, if they are covering others force areas or working on specific operations.

Did any of this footage get released for a news item at all? Although I would not be surprised if they did have a suitable receiver, it isn't rocket science if not encrypted.

Given what the press have been up to over the years, picking up the pics is quite mild. By hacked, I presume they believe it is quite a feat to be able to pick it up at all. NB: There would be be no audio, that would be on AirWave which is secure.

[SilsoeSid]

Police are investigating how the activists managed to obtain footage beamed from their helicopter to officers on the ground during an invasion of the coal-fired Kingsnorth power station near Rochester in Kent, by Greenpeace members in 2007.

The footage has come to light only this week with the release of the documentary — made free of charge by Nick Broomfield, the Bafta award-winning film-maker — which uses parts of the helicopter footage to show the activists at the top of the 200-metre power station chimney.

Tim Hewke, who co-ordinated the 2007 protest, was reluctant to reveal exactly how Greenpeace intercepted it and said: “Someone, somewhere has a piece of kit that’s used from time to time.”


The only 'hacking' done here was to buy a Sky Dish, Sky receiver and record Sky News. :ugh:

Not suprising really why he is reluctant to reveal exactly how it was intercepted, because Sky would be after him for the royalties. :=

Sensationalist non-story from a Bafta nominee wanting more fame ! :rolleyes:


Now that's sorted, just off now to 'Hack' Top Gear :ok:

[chinook<NL>]

hacked video from the dutch police
http://www.schellinger.demon.nl/index.htm (http://www.schellinger.org/)

[on21]

What’s the issue if it was or wasn't hacked, it's propose is to give a real time feed to silver or gold so they can make a command decision.

It's not sneaky beaky stuff, so who cares.

[Thud_and_Blunder]

Kent police helicopter? What Kent police helicopter?!

The only force I know with a UEO but no air ops unit. Or am I out of date again?

[Coconutty]

"Hacking" the "old" analogue heli telly transmissions is relatively easy as they are not ( usually ) encrypted, if you have a receiver that covers the frequency.... and such equipment does not appear to be listed at the Maplins on line store :rolleyes:

It has been rumoured however that some TV news stations acquired equipment, and monitored Heli Telly broadcasts in the past, much in the way that Police VHF and UHF radio broadcasts could be monitored,
prior to the introduction of the Tetra radio system.
Nothing wrong with that as long as no action was taken in response to any information that was heard / seen. ;)

The analogue frequencies are being sold off to the commercial sector, and the Home Office have allocated new frequencies for a digital Heli Telly system.

Police force air units will gradually change over to the digital system.
At present both Analogue and Digital systems are in use.

Information is freely available ( google ) that the new digital system will use much higher frequencies.

Apart from being digital, transmissions will also be encrypted, making it very unlikely that anyone without the correct encryption keys would be able to "hack" into the system and receive anything useful.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d129/coconut11/Coconutty.jpg

[SilsoeSid]

Thud,

You have a good point, the incident was back in 2007, yet Kent didn't have part of a helicopter until April 2008. Why are Kent investigating, if indeed they really are?

Are they next going to look into everyone who has 'hacked' into Police radio call before they went/go digital?


p.s.
How many justifiable helicopters does it take to save the planet?
or
How many Helicopters or aircraft do Greenpeace operate around the world in order to save it?

[Droopy]

Isn't it the Essex cab?

[mickjoebill]

As a matter of interest do most Police Airwings maintain an official video archive of interesting incidents or is it done in a adhoc way?

For instance the Bunsfield Oil Fire in UK (largest in post war Europe) where the met police heli had a good view of the fire during the application of an extraordinary number of large pumps employed to extinguish it.

Is such footage always archived for prosperity?



Mickjoebill

[Coconutty]

Is such footage always archived for prosperity?


NO - It will be archived as evidence :ok:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d129/coconut11/Coconutty.jpg

[Brilliant Stuff]

Buncefield I don't remember the MET being on scene (but I stand to be corrected), but the Chiltern's (TVP,Herts and Beds consortium) was just after 9. Lovely pictures they were too.