Security News
Remote-control drones are to be used to deliver coronavirus testing kits to a remote Scottish hospital - and they're being flown outside of the operators' direct line of sight. Backed by the local NHS trust, drone firm Skyports will fly drones between the Isle of Mull and Oban, the closest town on the Scottish mainland.
"Attention! You are in a prohibited area. Get out immediately," commands the drone, about the size of a loaf of bread. A heat sensor takes the offender's temperature and sends the information to a drone operator, who stares at a thermal map on his hand-held screen - shining orange and purple blobs. "Once a person's temperature is read by the drone, you must still stop that person and measure their temperature with a normal thermometer," Matteo Copia, police commander in Treviolo, near Bergamo, told AFP. "But drones are useful for controlling the territory."
The order comes amid a spate of warnings and bans at multiple government agencies, including the Department of Defense, about possible vulnerabilities in Chinese-made drone systems that could be allowing Beijing to conduct espionage. The Army banned the use of Chinese-made DJI drones three years ago following warnings from the Navy about "Highly vulnerable" drone systems.
Now can't be an easy time to be a professional drone pilot working for the US Department of the Interior. Until the issue is resolved, the only DOI drone flights allowed will be those connected to emergencies - monitoring wildfires and floods, both uses that underscore the importance of drones to the agency's work.
The U.S. Department of the Interior this week announced that it has temporarily grounded all drone operations, except for emergencies, citing concerns over national security and cybersecurity. The department's order does not specifically mention threats posed by Chinese-made drones, but Gizmodo reports all of the Interior Department's drones are either made in China or are produced with Chinese parts.
The United States Department of the Interior this week has halted the operation of unmanned aircraft systems over cybersecurity concerns most likely related to the use of Chinese drones. The purpose of the order is "To better ensure the cybersecurity and supply of American technology of UAS procured for use and operation in support of the Department of the Interior's mission."
Technology innovators Syniverse and AiRXOS, a wholly owned subsidiary of GE Aviation, announced they are working together to protect the skies by providing a communications infrastructure that manages drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles operating at low altitudes. Syniverse Secure Global Access provides a guarded pathway for the data generated from these SIM cards to the AiRXOS cloud applications.
No one knows who they belong to. (Well, of course someone knows. And my guess is that it's likely that we will know soon.)...
Yet another squid acronym. As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven't covered. Read my blog posting guidelines here....
Once Classified Document Finally ReleasedIn 2017, the U.S. Army ordered that the use of drones made by Chinese manufacturer DJI be discontinued, citing security concerns. Now, a second classified...