14 DAY TRIAL // This may come as a surprise to some, but the US has special submarines that it uses to hack into strategic targets, be they underwater communications cables or the infrastructure of other nations.
This piece of information is not necessarily new since the media had reported on it in 2015, when it was revealed that USS Annapolis is one of the Navy's special submarines that has cyber-offensive capabilities.
According to documents leaked by Edward Snowden, the Annapolis is a computer network exploitation (CNE) toolkit, a portable hacking platform that spies on any designated target, be it be another country's military troops, its infrastructure, or underwater communications cables.
US submarines used as portable hacking platforms
The Navy's use of submarines as cyber weapons was confirmed at the start of the month by US Navy Rear Admiral Michael E. Jabaley, Program Executive Officer for Submarines, and US Navy Rear Admiral Charles A. Richard, Director, Undersea Warfare Division (N97), both speaking at a conference in Washington (video below, past 50:00).
"There is an offensive capability that we prize very highly, and this is where I can't talk about much, but suffice to say that we have submarines out on the frontlines that are very involved at the highest technical level with doing exactly the kind of things that you would want them to do," Rear Admiral Jabaley said.
It may not be much information, but we never expected a US general to be a loud-mouth about his country's secret cyber-missions.
Submarines can intercept and tamper with unencrypted traffic
In a piece published on Saturday, the Washington Post reveals that US submarines are equipped with powerful antennas that are capable of intercepting and even manipulating other people's communications, especially unencrypted traffic.
The USS Annapolis still plays a major role in these operations, the publication reveals.
Future plans see the US expanding the cyber capabilities of its submarines with drones, in order to broaden the sub's reach even further whenever needed.
Something similar is also under development by the US Air Force, who started testing modified EC-130 airplanes as portable hacking platforms last fall.
