I have a story with a plot that hinges on the Soviets inserting sabotaging code into the programming that runs the sonar in US Ohio class submarines. Specifically the code listens to the sonar, waiting for a specific audio signal. When it hears this particular audio signal, it mutes the audio feed to the sonar operators, sends on a few pings, and then unmutes the audio feed.
So a Soviet submarine just needs to broadcast that code, then listen for for any return pings, thus the Soviet sub knows where the Ohio class sub is, but not vice versa. I'm guessing the crew of the Ohio will know something is wrong with the sonar, but won't immediately know they are in deadly danger, and even once they do, won't be able to find the compromised module. I would think the best they could manage would be to turn off all sonar and go blind, in which case they would be at a huge disadvantage.
I have a lot of questions about this scenario and haven't been able to find any detailed information on the subject. It would be best if the code and ping were outside of human hearing, because I assume the crew can hear their own pings if they're between 20 to 20,000 hertz. Can Ohio subs broadcast in infrasound or ultrasound? Are there any problems with this scenario? If the Soviets wanted to compromise a navy software contractor writing a system update for a computer module for the Ohio sonar, what would be the best way to do that?
thanks!
So a Soviet submarine just needs to broadcast that code, then listen for for any return pings, thus the Soviet sub knows where the Ohio class sub is, but not vice versa. I'm guessing the crew of the Ohio will know something is wrong with the sonar, but won't immediately know they are in deadly danger, and even once they do, won't be able to find the compromised module. I would think the best they could manage would be to turn off all sonar and go blind, in which case they would be at a huge disadvantage.
I have a lot of questions about this scenario and haven't been able to find any detailed information on the subject. It would be best if the code and ping were outside of human hearing, because I assume the crew can hear their own pings if they're between 20 to 20,000 hertz. Can Ohio subs broadcast in infrasound or ultrasound? Are there any problems with this scenario? If the Soviets wanted to compromise a navy software contractor writing a system update for a computer module for the Ohio sonar, what would be the best way to do that?
thanks!