WIRED reported October 7, 2011 that a computer virus hits U.S. Drone Fleet who control U.S. Air Force drones flown on the warfront. There are no confirmed incidents of classified information being lost or sent to an outside source. The virus did not stop pilots from flying any of their missions. Network security specialists are uncertain if the virus was part of a directed attack or accidentally infected the networks.

We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back,”says a source familiar with the network infection, one of three that told Danger Room about the virus. “We think it’s benign. But we just don’t know.

Use of the drives is now severely restricted throughout the military. But the base at Creech was one of the exceptions, until the virus hit.

Predator and Reaper crews use removable hard drives to load map updates and transport mission videos from one computer to another. The virus is believed to have spread through these removable drives. Drone units at other Air Force bases worldwide have now been ordered to stop their use.

In the meantime, technicians at Creech are trying to get the virus off the GCS machines.

The Air Force declined to comment directly on the virus. “We generally do not discuss specific vulnerabilities, threats, or responses to our computer networks, since that helps people looking to exploit or attack our systems to refine their approach,”says Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis, a spokesman for Air Combat Command, which oversees the drones and all other Air Force tactical aircraft.

WIRED said in the story:

It’s getting a lot of attention, the source says. But no one’s panicking. Yet.