The downside of drones

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

Low-cost drones not only pose a risk to public safety, but they can be instruments of foreign intelligence gathering, experts say.

Senate lawmakers heard from experts and public officials who warned of the security risks related to low-cost drones.

Harold Shaw, chief security officer for the Massachusetts Port Authority, told the Transportation Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee about the dangers unmanned aerial systems pose at airports and public venues, and asked the committee to empower state and local public safety partners "to take charge of their own safety."

Currently, Shaw said at the June 18 hearing, local officials have neither the authority nor technology to respond to a drone incident.  He advocated an integrated system that allows both air traffickers and law enforcement to effectively identify drones and a way to mitigate drones that pose threats.

Four federal agencies -- the Departments of Defense, Energy, Homeland Security and Justice -- have authority to disrupt, destroy or damage a drone, according to Angela Stubblefield, deputy associate administrator at the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Security and Hazardous Materials. She acknowledged the need for "a robust security framework to support and enable full UAS integration" that includes working with local authorities to mitigate rogue drones, but, she said, "it's challenging to consider the ability of state and local law enforcement to be able to do that without potentially creating even greater safety impacts while they're trying to address a security risk."

The security risk from drones also extends to their technologies and the nation's relationship with foreign countries.

Harry Wingo of National Defense University told the committee that Chinese UAS manufacturer DJI has a "near monopoly" on drone technology marketed in the U.S. That technology isn't just in the gears and rotors, but also in the image collection and storage systems that take photographs and retain data.

"American geospatial information is flown to Chinese data centers at an unprecedented level. This literally gives a Chinese company a view from above of our nation," Wingo said. "DJI says that American data is safe, but its use of proprietary software networks means how would we know."

Wingo noted that the Department of Defense has banned the use of DJI drones and expressed concern that U.S. public safety organizations including police in New York City have adopted the Chinese-made tech. "When you consider protecting a U.S. city at that level, to hand that information over is concerning," he said.

In December 2017, an intelligence memo from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement alleged that images of U.S. critical infrastructure facilities were being gathered and possibly sent to Chinese government data centers by drones.

A spokesperson for DJI North America strongly disputed the notion that its drones were communicating with outside sources without the knowledge of the operators.

"As a privately-held global technology company, DJI gives customers full and complete control over how their data is collected, stored, and transmitted. DJI drones do not share any data with DJI, over the internet, or in any other manner unless the operator deliberately chooses to do so," said company spokesperson Adam Lisberg in an email. "The security of our technology has been independently verified by the U.S. government, and our products meet all of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's data management recommendations."

Catherine Cahill, director of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration, noted in her testimony that closed software and storage systems for foreign-made drones are a concern.

"We are working to address foreign systems by using open source autopilots instead of the foreign made systems coming with them," she said. Cahill also warned that drone technology being developed in the U.S. is threatened by industrial espionage from foreign competitors.

Cahill said the U.S. must be careful in the rush to develop both drones and anti-drone technologies. Some technologies being developed in U.S. research centers could be vulnerable. For instance, she said some forward-looking infrared cameras used in academic research laboratories or in remote sensing classes at her facility are controlled under International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

"We do see approaches from Iran, Russia, Pakistan. They want to come and learn" about the center's work and test site, she said. "They assume we're an easier target than the Defense Department."

Additionally, Cahill and Stubblefield told lawmakers that Congress should consider authorizing counter-UAS technology testing, currently forbidden under law except for a narrow exemption granted to the four agencies.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), the chairman of the Transportation Subcommittee, said a possible change to the law that might allow for anti-drone technology testing by nongovernmental entities in the wide, unpopulated expanses of his home state might be worth considering.

A version of this article was first posted to FCW, a sibling site to GCN.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.