US military report highlights security fears behind ban on DJI drones
- A navy intelligence report from 2017 warned of the danger the world’s bestselling camera drone brand could be hacked
- Memo said ‘numerous techniques’ could be used to compromise data collected using the devices, which the US military had used to develop its defences
A recently disclosed document has shed new light on the US military ban on Chinese-made Dajiang (DJI) drones.
The memorandum “Operational Risks With Regards to DJI Family of Products” by the US Navy’s executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons – dated May 24, 2017 – was one of the reports cited by the US Army later that year when it banned the world’s bestselling drone camera brand. This ban was later extended across the US military.
The army memo only attributed its ban to “cyber vulnerabilities” without further elaboration.
In the navy memorandum, which was recently released to the national security archive of George Washington University through the US Freedom of Information Act, the researchers identified several risks.
The main concern was that the data link between a DJI drone and a ground station could be hacked to gain access to the data collected — or even to hijack the aircraft.
