Data security and DJI

[Prismatic]

.... They do use your data to make more money... That's all companies really care about is money and control over people...

Yeah, that “control” part nearly slipped by. In the context of a technology company under an authoritarian and unfriendly (not to say hostile) government—where intelligence equals power—I fly my drone knowing that, more likely than not, I’m an unwitting, unwilling, and unpaid Chinese spy.
But yeah, I fly.
One target that I’m doing a lot of video on this season, for example, is wheat fields, from bare dirt in the spring to amber waves to stubble in the autumn. I have high hopes for the final film.
But I realize my data, combined with the data from a few thousand like me, could add up to “agricultural intelligence”. That data could be leveraged in ways I don’t intend.

 

[Divebomber]

I hate to get too deep into debate. It often leads to moderation and I have enough strikes against me already!

Totally agree. I'm a "Big Data" IT guy, and I've seen how seemingly innocuous data can be put together to come up with sensitive information that is otherwise protected. I'm a little nervous about DJI collecting this data, but I'm not so nervous I won't fly. It's interesting, as I think about it. You mentioned bridges and other sensitive sites. While a whole bunch of us drone operators just fly around a nearby field, others often want to fly near points of interest. Bridges, railroads, tourist attractions, buildings, airports (with permission, of course). But there's another data point that we may not have considered. Places we are NOT allowed to fly. By finding holes in flight data, DJI can identify sensitive areas that they may not have in their database. A good example of this would be a TFR (temporary flight restriction). TFR's are established by the FAA when someone of importance is at a certain local or some event is taking place. By analyzing that data, they can start to build a map of expected movements and events that the government considers sensitive. That data can be invaluable for reasons I'll let you consider. This sort of data analysis is a very common practice. In some areas of conflicts, military drones can find areas of interest, for instance, by identifying areas where there is, for instance, a town or a compound, and there is NO electronic signature of cellphones or wifi. I won't ramble on anymore about this, but data collection is big business these days, and to ignore it or marginalize it could be a big mistake. From now on I'm wrapping my Mavic in tinfoil that matches my hat.

 

[sar104]

Totally agree. I'm a "Big Data" IT guy, and I've seen how seemingly innocuous data can be put together to come up with sensitive information that is otherwise protected. I'm a little nervous about DJI collecting this data, but I'm not so nervous I won't fly. It's interesting, as I think about it. You mentioned bridges and other sensitive sites. While a whole bunch of us drone operators just fly around a nearby field, others often want to fly near points of interest. Bridges, railroads, tourist attractions, buildings, airports (with permission, of course). But there's another data point that we may not have considered. Places we are NOT allowed to fly. By finding holes in flight data, DJI can identify sensitive areas that they may not have in their database. A good example of this would be a TFR (temporary flight restriction). TFR's are established by the FAA when someone of importance is at a certain local or some event is taking place. By analyzing that data, they can start to build a map of expected movements and events that the government considers sensitive. That data can be invaluable for reasons I'll let you consider. This sort of data analysis is a very common practice. In some areas of conflicts, military drones can find areas of interest, for instance, by identifying areas where there is, for instance, a town or a compound, and there is NO electronic signature of cellphones or wifi. I won't ramble on anymore about this, but data collection is big business these days, and to ignore it or marginalize it could be a big mistake. From now on I'm wrapping my Mavic in tinfoil that matches my hat.

Well they don't need flight data from UAVs to build up a picture of TFRs, since those all published - they just need to download the listings. There is little, if any, useful information to be gleaned from hobby or commercial UAV telemetry. The original concern from the US Army was in relation to UAV operations that might, themselves, be sensitive, even if only at the OUO level.

 

[Divebomber]

That's true about TFRs, but I was using that as a familiar example everyone could relate to. The point I was making is that the absence of data can be just as informative as the data itself. ;-)

 

[sar104]

That's true about TFRs, but I was using that as a familiar example everyone could relate to. The point I was making is that the absence of data can be just as informative as the data itself. ;-)

Maybe, and that's certainly true in some cases, but I actually can't think of an example in this case that might be applicable. All the places that you cannot fly in the US, whether permanently or temporarily, are published - they have to be. So I'm still unable to think of a situation where unofficial flight data might yield anything not already publicly available. Can you think of anything?

 

[Divebomber]

Maybe, and that's certainly true in some cases, but I actually can't think of an example in this case that might be applicable. All the places that you cannot fly in the US, whether permanently or temporarily, are published - they have to be. So I'm still unable to think of a situation where unofficial flight data might yield anything not already publicly available. Can you think of anything?

Actually, no I can't. But that doesn't mean that this particular stratum of data wouldn't be useful to someone. Of course, I'm trying to make a point with an utter lack of supporting data, but it's something to think about. Being a data geek myself, I was really intrigued by the way they found the likely place Bin Laden or someone else really important might be. As you probably know, we have satellites and air vehicles that constantly stiff the radio spectrum for useful information in areas of conflict. When Bin Laden went into serious hiding, he made sure that the compound in which he was living was first hidden in plain sight in a suburb of a city. Then he disconnected all internet access, and the use of land-lines, or cellular phones was forbidden. As local assets began looking for him, they identified his compound as one of the possibilities. By sniffing radio frequencies, US surveillance teams found an interesting anomaly. There were NO communications coming out of that compound. If you've ever been in that part of the world, it's not unusual to see a primitive house with a satellite dish on top of it, and because the landline telephone infrastructure is so crappy, almost everyone uses cell phones. Very odd that there were no cell phone signals coming from the compound at any time. It was the lack of data that interested people, and it was one of the puzzle pieces that identified the compound as where Bin Laden was hiding. But, as usual, i'm running down a rabbit hole. The upshot of the whole thing is that those who are interested in data to gain and advantage will use data in unexpected ways, and part of valuable data, is the lack of it, specific to an area of interest. This is a very well seasoned technique as you probably know. BTW, I'm interested in your user name. I used to have a SAR, too. lol.

 

[Jonny_Pain]

The future Artificial Intelligence Oppressor Ruler .... God AIOR will mine the videos and pictures to add to its information to continue its reign over mankind. When the machine becomes alive, man will die. Man will serve the machines, as the machines once served them.

Both Elon Musk and the late Stephen Hawkings both issued strong warnings against Artificial Intelligence, in which Elon Musk recently said the threat from A.I. Is more dangerous than nuclear war!! And has launched a billion dollar campaign to stop the threat.

All kneel to God AIOR!!!!!

All kneel to God AIOR!!!!!

All kneel to God AIOR!!!!!