China Hitting Back On Ban

[DDS]

US Department of the Interior Officially Grounds All of Its Chinese-Made Drones

Yesterday, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior officially signed an order temporarily grounding all Chinese-made drones in the government's fleet,

petapixel.com

How The U.S. Department Of The Interior’s New Drone Policy Hurts America

In its broad mission to effectively manage over 500 million acres of land across the United States and its territories, the Department of the Interior has in recent years turned to drone technology to help get the job done.

content.dji.com

Don't think DJI response is going to pressure the DOI or the us govt. in any way, shape or form...Maybe not the smartest response? I especially don't like the "nothing to do w/ security and is a politically motivated agenda" comment. YEAH not the best choice of words....

 

[scoble08]

US Department of the Interior Officially Grounds All of Its Chinese-Made Drones

Yesterday, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior officially signed an order temporarily grounding all Chinese-made drones in the government's fleet,

petapixel.com

How The U.S. Department Of The Interior’s New Drone Policy Hurts America

In its broad mission to effectively manage over 500 million acres of land across the United States and its territories, the Department of the Interior has in recent years turned to drone technology to help get the job done.

content.dji.com

Don't think DJI response is going to pressure the DOI or the us govt. in any way, shape or form...Maybe not the smartest response? I especially don't like the "nothing to do w/ security and is a politically motivated agenda" comment. YEAH not the best choice of words....

More truth than fiction. This group, The Commercial Drone Alliance (Commercial Drone Alliance ) is a major driving force behind the DOI/DOT's ignorance and the FAA's NPRM. I encourage you to visit this link and see for yourself the amount of money/influence (amazon, Apple, UPS, UBER, etc) that this organization has and what they hope to accomplish. We have been sold to the highest bidder!

 

[ChrisOutdoors]

I for one agree with the banning of Chinese UAS' for US Government use.

 

[bushie]

It is just a tariff by another name. Stupid.

 

[CactusJackSlade]

I for one agree with the banning of Chinese UAS' for US Government use.

Can you tell me why?

 

[AMann]

I for one agree with the banning of Chinese UAS' for US Government use.

Can you tell me why?

Don’t ask what type of drone one flies when they answer that...

 

[Thomas B]

Well... it’s a lot of goings on that seem ultimately only to impact the end user. That’s who pays the tariff.

 

[Deleted member 94047]

In a thread that got deleted for redundancy, I pointed out that DJI had gone to the extent of working together with the US government on a custom firmware that would entirely avoid sending any data to DJI servers. The US decided to end this collaboration with no explanation. I don't blame DJI at all for taking their position; the only way they can please the US is if they shut up shop. This is anti competitive behavior pure and simple.

 

[ChrisOutdoors]

Don’t ask what type of drone one flies when they answer that...

What one uses for personal use vice offical Government work are two completely different things. I have a degree of "who cares" mentality when it comes to using DJI products as a hobby but when it comes to FOUO/Sensitive/SECRET type work there needs to be a hard line. No firmware mod or comprise is possible because when it comes to technology this advanced it's just safer to say "No Chinese products ". Quite frankly I'm amazed some of you disagree with this stance, it shows an ignorance in the CYBER war thats going on.

Here's some history on why the US Gov doesn't trust outside tech companies in the workplace.

DOD bans the use of removable, flash-type drives on all government computers

The Defense Department has banned the use of removable flash media and storage devices from all government computers, according to a series of notices put out by the services this week.

www.stripes.com

China tech company brags: We hack U.S. telecoms | WND | by WND Staff

By F. Michael Maloof WASHINGTON – A major Chinese telecommunications company has been boasting how it was able to hack into U.S. and international telecommunications networks and intercept what it suggested was "malicious" data. The claim was made at a conference held in Dubai in February by...

www.wnd.com

New Evidence of Hacked Supermicro Hardware Found in U.S. Telecom

The discovery shows that China continues to sabotage critical technology components bound for America.

www.bloomberg.com

Huawei: The Chinese Company That Scares Washington | TIME.com

Is Huawei an agent of the Chinese state, as critics charge, or simply a successful foreign business that might challenge the titans of American tech?

world.time.com

Eventhough DJI is very likely an honest and decent company, there's nothing stopping their Government from forcing them into injecting malicious software at any point.

 

[AMann]

What one uses for personal use vice offical Government work are two completely different things. I have a degree of "who cares" mentality when it comes to using DJI products as a hobby but when it comes to FOUO/Sensitive/SECRET type work there needs to be a hard line. No firmware mod or comprise is possible because when it comes to technology this advanced it's just safer to say "No Chinese products ". Quite frankly I'm amazed some of you disagree with this stance, it shows an ignorance in the CYBER war thats going on.

Here's some history on why the US Gov doesn't trust outside tech companies in the workplace.

DOD bans the use of removable, flash-type drives on all government computers

The Defense Department has banned the use of removable flash media and storage devices from all government computers, according to a series of notices put out by the services this week.

www.stripes.com

China tech company brags: We hack U.S. telecoms | WND | by WND Staff

By F. Michael Maloof WASHINGTON – A major Chinese telecommunications company has been boasting how it was able to hack into U.S. and international telecommunications networks and intercept what it suggested was "malicious" data. The claim was made at a conference held in Dubai in February by...

www.wnd.com

New Evidence of Hacked Supermicro Hardware Found in U.S. Telecom

The discovery shows that China continues to sabotage critical technology components bound for America.

www.bloomberg.com

Huawei: The Chinese Company That Scares Washington | TIME.com

Is Huawei an agent of the Chinese state, as critics charge, or simply a successful foreign business that might challenge the titans of American tech?

world.time.com

Eventhough DJI is very likely an honest and decent company, there's nothing stopping their Government from forcing them into injecting malicious software at any point.

There is no ‘secret’ work in firefighting, wildlife/environmental and natural resource monitoring and SAR missions that DOI does that would merit a total ban. If it is a sensitive mission, then I agree, use a system that can be certified as secure. The total ban was a very politically motivated decision that has wasted and will continue to cost taxpayers a lot of money.

 

[ChrisOutdoors]

The total ban was a very politically motivated decision that has wasted and will continue to cost taxpayers a lot of money.

That's your opinion, and an incorrect one at that. The federal Gov is responding to known repeated CYBER vulnerabilities brought forth from Chinese companies, that's a fact. Couple things on your response: 1, States are well within their rights to purchase DJI drones, the ban applies to the Federal Gov, so the majority of SAR, wildlife/environmental monitoring is going mostly unaffected. 2, the DOI has 800 UAS with only 15% of those DJI products; hardly a significant market share or impact to DJI. 3rd and last point, there are plenty of non Chinese UAS on the market which perform at similar levels to DJI products with close enough price tags.

 

[AMann]

That's your opinion, and an incorrect one at that. The federal Gov is responding to known repeated CYBER vulnerabilities brought forth from Chinese companies, that's a fact. Couple things on your response: 1, States are well within their rights to purchase DJI drones, the ban applies to the Federal Gov, so the majority of SAR, wildlife/environmental monitoring is going mostly unaffected. 2, the DOI has 800 UAS with only 15% of those DJI products; hardly a significant market share or impact to DJI. 3rd and last point, there are plenty of non Chinese UAS on the market which perform at similar levels to DJI products with close enough price tags.

It’s really not an opinion, The National Park service, USGS, BLM, US Fish and Wildlife Service are Federal agencies under Dept. of Interior that were using drones for doing wildlife surveys, Resource mapping, search and rescue missions in national parks, fire mapping, all the things I mentioned above. there’s nothing incorrect with what I stated.

 

[Deleted member 94047]

the DOI has 800 UAS with only 15% of those DJI products

Not so according to the WSJ (cited by this article)

The agency has around 800 drones. According to the Journal, agency officials have admitted that all of them are Chinese-made or contain Chinese parts.

Also this from the same article is worth noting

Some Interior Department employees say that restrictions on the use of foreign drones have already hampered their work. The restrictions have "weakened their ability to survey erosion, monitor endangered species, and inspect dams," according to the Journal.

The Interior Department estimates that it saved $14 million in 2018 by using drones instead of helicopters or airplanes. And, of course, it avoids putting federal workers in harm's way.

 

[ChrisOutdoors]

It’s really not an opinion, The National Park service, USGS, US Fish and Wildlife Service are Federal agencies that were using drones for doing wildlife surveys, Resource mapping, search and rescue missions in national parks, fire mapping, all the things I mentioned above. there’s nothing incorrect with what I stated.

You said it's political, that disregards the CYBER threat they pose. Also, I just read a quote from the Senator writing the bill:

“Secretary Bernhardt is reviewing the Department of the Interior’s drone program. Until this review is completed, the Secretary has directed that drones manufactured in China or made from Chinese components be grounded unless they are currently being utilized for emergency purposes, such as fighting wildfires, search and rescue, and dealing with natural disasters that may threaten life or property.”

China Hitting Back On Ban

https://petapixel.com/2020/01/30/us-department-of-the-interior-officially-grounds-all-chinese-made-drones/ https://content.dji.com/how-the-us-department-of-the-interiors-new-drone-policy-hurts-america/ Don't think DJI response is going to pressure the DOI or the us govt. in any way, shape or...

mavicpilots.com

Public outrage over smart legislation is more fun right?

 

[AMann]

You said it's political, that disregards the CYBER threat they pose. Also, I just read a quote from the Senator writing the bill:

China Hitting Back On Ban

https://petapixel.com/2020/01/30/us-department-of-the-interior-officially-grounds-all-chinese-made-drones/ https://content.dji.com/how-the-us-department-of-the-interiors-new-drone-policy-hurts-america/ Don't think DJI response is going to pressure the DOI or the us govt. in any way, shape or...

mavicpilots.com

Public outrage over smart legislation is more fun right?

Yes, saying it was a political decision is my opinion, but based on knowing that Department of Interior agencies typically do not use drones in sensitive areas, it’s a logical opinion. The Department of Defense has a legitimate reason to evaluate the use if foreign made technology, but there seriously is not a concern for that level of security the types of projects the federal resource agencies do.Do

 

[Deleted member 93449]

I don't know if it's motivated by politics, intelligence, business or a combination of all three. That said, what's the alternative to DJI? I'm familiar with Parrot and Autel. Who are the other players that could supply the types of drones the Dept. of Interior would use?

 

[FoxhallGH]

You said it's political, that disregards the CYBER threat they pose. Also, I just read a quote from the Senator writing the bill:

That would be an 'Alleged cyber threat' ... It's strange that even though every security service on the planet could go out and buy a DJI Drone off the shelf in their corner store, not one has published any definitive article describing how those 'dastardly' Chinese use a DJI Mavic 2 Pro to tap into your - or my - nation's security. We'd rather just wallow in the seas of prejudicial rumour as a petty trade war is fought over our heads, and our industries are blocked from exporting to Chinese markets due to it ...

 

[ChrisOutdoors]

That would be an 'Alleged cyber threat' ... It's strange that even though every security service on the planet could go out and buy a DJI Drone off the shelf in their corner store, not one has published any definitive article describing how those 'dastardly' Chinese use a DJI Mavic 2 Pro to tap into your - or my - nation's security. We'd rather just wallow in the seas of prejudicial rumour as a petty trade war is fought over our heads, and our industries are blocked from exporting to Chinese markets due to it ...

Because it's happened many times over. It's almost never the company being malicious, it's the Chinese government strong arming them into compliance once a trust is established. Did you bother reading past CYBER threats we've experienced in the links I posted above? The METADATA that UAS' collect is worth more than the UAS itself; think photos of critical infrastructure or even just WHERE flights are being conducted are valuable intel. They're not going to share how, what, or why it's a threat because then you're showing your hand to the players in a poker game. Catching on?

 

[FoxhallGH]

Because it's happened many times over. It's almost never the company being malicious, it's the Chinese government strong arming them into compliance once a trust is established. Did you bother reading past CYBER threats we've experienced in the links I posted above? The METADATA that UAS' collect is worth more than the UAS itself; think photos of critical infrastructure or even just WHERE flights are being conducted are valuable intel. They're not going to share how, what, or why it's a threat because then you're showing your hand to the players in a poker game. Catching on?

I don't know where you are flying and the rules that you fly under, but the combination of the Dronecode rules/laws, and DJI's own geo-fencing of Airports, Power Facilities, Military areas etc. here in the UK, means that even if data was passed on to Chinese Intelligence - there's not much to see, and there would be little in it that they didn't already know about from Google Maps. Personally, I'd be more worried about my 'Echo' passing recordings of my office phone conversations on to that little USA based intelligence collecting organisation called Amazon!

 

[ChrisOutdoors]

means that even if data was passed on to Chinese Intelligence - there's not much to see, and there would be little in it that they didn't already know about from Google Maps.

Just because you can't imagine it, doesn't mean there's a way to gain intel.

The Strava Heat Map Shows Even Militaries Can't Keep Secrets from Social Data

The US military is reexamining security policies after fitness tracker data shared on social media revealed bases and patrol routes

www.wired.com