DJI drones spying USA

[shb]

I was just watching Tucker Carlson of Fox news. He had a congressman from Florida on, saying he suspects DJI drones, donated to American law enforcement, of spying on the US and sending data back to the Chinese government. I fail to see how they could do this, because after flying my mavic, I just take the SD card out and transfer the videos to my computer. I don't plug the drone into the internet. It seems if this "spying" was really happening, our people could test the drones to see if they are doing anything nafarios. Because if this accusation is unchallenged, it could harm our ability to buy DJI drones here in the US.

 

[67A1F DG]

I was just watching Tucker Carlson of Fox news. He had a congressman from Florida on, saying he suspects DJI drones, donated to American law enforcement, of spying on the US and sending data back to the Chinese government. I fail to see how they could do this, because after flying my mavic, I just take the SD card out and transfer the videos to my computer. I don't plug the drone into the internet. It seems if this "spying" was really happening, our people could test the drones to see if they are doing anything nafarios. Because if this accusation is unchallenged, it could harm our ability to buy DJI drones here in the US.

This is not a new issue

I'm retired from Civil Service, worked for the Navy. About 12 to 15. years ago the Navy Marine Corp Interchange (NMCI), a private industry company, was contracted to manage all computer and cyber security aspects for the Navy.

Allot of what drove this change to NMCI was the potential for spying by china via SD cards specifically. The fear was that a virus could infect the Navy's systems when a infected SD card is used..

Things changed with NMCI

They controlled all aspects of computer systems used in the Navy. Software loaded on systems became strictly controlled.
Personal SD cards were banned from use example: Digital cameras now had to be checked out and only SD cards that were tested by IT people could also be checked out for use.

Computer systems were constantly monitored by NMCI, if anything unauthorized was connected to a computer, it would be detected and your computer workstation would be locked. Hard to work without a computer.

"Because if this accusation is unchallenged, it could harm our ability to buy DJI drones here in the US."

The Navy did not ban SD cards they just strictly controlled them, they had to be tested to be certified clean before use. The US Government is not going to ban DJI Products from being sold in the United states to private citizens. They may not be banned from use by the government, just tightly tested and controlled.

The governments fear is that the Drone could carry a virus, transfer it to the SD card and then to the government system.

Just my thoughts, hope it makes sense.

Regards

 

[Reginald E Johnson]

If they spy on me, all they are going to get is some footage of some scenery, trees and bushes! Maybe a kid’s birthday party!

 

[E90RAW]

I was just watching Tucker Carlson of Fox news. He had a congressman from Florida on, saying he suspects DJI drones, donated to American law enforcement, of spying on the US and sending data back to the Chinese government. I fail to see how they could do this, because after flying my mavic, I just take the SD card out and transfer the videos to my computer. I don't plug the drone into the internet. It seems if this "spying" was really happening, our people could test the drones to see if they are doing anything nafarios. Because if this accusation is unchallenged, it could harm our ability to buy DJI drones here in the US.

Why would they need to spy with a drone when they have satellites overhead giving them far better pictures. I would worry about cellphones before I would worry about drones.

 

[dirkclod]

Exactly .

 

[Dale D]

I was just watching Tucker Carlson of Fox news. He had a congressman from Florida on, saying he suspects DJI drones, donated to American law enforcement, of spying on the US and sending data back to the Chinese government. I fail to see how they could do this, because after flying my mavic, I just take the SD card out and transfer the videos to my computer. I don't plug the drone into the internet. It seems if this "spying" was really happening, our people could test the drones to see if they are doing anything nafarios. Because if this accusation is unchallenged, it could harm our ability to buy DJI drones here in the US.

I watched the same Tucker Carlson Show segment last night- the congressman was one from the northern part of my State of Florida, Matt Gaetz. He specifically mentioned that the DJI company has essentially won the competition for any other drone manufacturer in the US. Also mentioned using drones to monitor crowd controls and to monitor social distancing of crowds. I have no idea whatsoever if the Chinese can retrieve data from a drone but in this day and age, I would certainly have to wonder about it. The whole conversation put me at un-ease because it is calling negative tensions to drones in general and to DJI drone is particular. Not to be political, but we, as drone hobbiests, should all be concerned that laws against our hobby are resisted.
I am attaching a screen grab- you will have to go the FOXNEWS.com to find the actual footage.

 

[KB9Radio]

(Mod Removed Comment)
I think most of this is simply to create a "Boogeyman" here in the US. And the short answer is yes it will affect our ability to buy and fly (legislation) the drones we enjoy. I personally think the whole thing is crazy, except for maybe military use which of course could be an issue. However I would think they could take steps to secure that connection. Any drone out there uses Chinese parts (or any parts) and can probably be hacked into just like doorbells, security cameras, and baby monitors are.

 

[spamgnome]

Solution: Dump US-made Skydio spy drones into the Chinese market!

 

[dirkclod]

Solution: Dump US-made Skydio spy drones into the Chinese market!

Guess you don’t know where the majority of that is made.
From what I have read in that forum on this the airframe is
made here and that is all.

 

[Pstik]

I have read on a fed web site that it is the app that sends data on the internet. There is to be a mod coming out for government usage that will disable this broad cast from the app. This will effect DJI says is auto updates. The user will be responsible to get updates. There is a lot of data that the drone records as well as photos.

 

[spamgnome]

Guess you don’t know where the majority of that is made.
From what I have read in that forum on this the airframe is
made here and that is all.

The OPer was referring to the behavior of the company and not where the parts are sourced from. For the record, my comment was made for comedic purposes only.

 

[E90RAW]

Solution: Dump US-made Skydio spy drones into the Chinese market!

The US doesn't make anything! And when we finally start "making stuff" again, it will be much better than Chinese products. No chemicals to worry about, stuff will last again. Maybe this pandemic will start the revolution back to "made at home"(USA or where ever your from).

 

[Reginald E Johnson]

Solution: Dump US-made Skydio spy drones into the Chinese market!

They probably make those Skydio Drones in China too!

 

[jeaves]

My two-cents are this, my drone or anyone's drone isn't going to show China something they can't already see with Google earth or all the satellites flying around.

 

[Hermondrone]

Hi all. New pilot here. ATK Part 107 exam scheduled for May 8th. Wohooo.
This thread seemed appropriate to my question. In trying out different apps like DJI Go 4, Litchi, and Kittyhawk. Kittyhawk has a menu choice for “Kittyhawk Traffic”.
Opening that is a map showing active drone missions all over the world. I’m assuming these are pilots using the Kittyhawk app. Are all these flights I’m seeing on the map logged/recorded in the cloud somewhere? And why the heck are their dozens of drones flying right now near Sherman, TX? Looks like a swarm. What am I seeing?

 

[Hermondrone]

Should be AKT.

 

[dronerdave]

Well I guess I see the opposite and won't make a political comment about specific news agencies. IMO it has no place here. How about how others are reporting this?

DHS warns of 'strong concerns' that Chinese-made drones are stealing data | CNN Politics

Chinese-made drones may be sending sensitive flight data to their manufacturers in China, where it can be accessed by the government there, the US Department of Homeland Security warned in an alert issued Monday obtained by CNN.

www.cnn.com

 

[Zbip57]

I was just watching Tucker Carlson of Fox news. He had a congressman from Florida on, saying he suspects DJI drones, donated to American law enforcement, of spying on the US and sending data back to the Chinese government.

That's pretty funny, considering that DJI (a Chinese company) through their FlySafe GEO System already provides a map generously sprinkled with red markers flagging Restricted Zones to remind us that we are prevented from flying our drones over such sensitive sites, particularly not over any of these many Nuclear Missile silos!

 

[sar104]

I have read on a fed web site that it is the app that sends data on the internet. There is to be a mod coming out for government usage that will disable this broad cast from the app. This will effect DJI says is auto updates. The user will be responsible to get updates. There is a lot of data that the drone records as well as photos.

That's been available for a couple of years, but it didn't help with getting them approved for use by federal agencies. I gave up on that battle. State and local authorities for the most part have ignored the feds on this one, and it is difficult to see how even LE use is going to be of much use to China, let alone public safety operations. This particular report is almost certainly just part of the administration's anti-China deflection campaign.

 

[erhard58]

They're mapping those restricted / sensitive information using data given to them, the same data as given to any other company that produces products using cartography info (imagery and metadata).

Concerns that govt orgs like the Homeland Security have is people gathering intelligence not found in publicly available aerial data. For instance: since 9/11, brown-skinned people have been detained for taking simple vacation photos that happen to contain items of infrastructure.

The biggest concern for THIS THREAD is the fear-mongering and hand-wringing caused by pseudo "news" organization that spin information in a way that helps generate continued sponsor revenue (with increasingly old info that's already been hashed through, such as this topic).

That this affects our hobby is undeniable. That some of us are getting our information from Faux News and posting it here as credible is something that I cannot abide by without comment.

Chris

cannot agree more!!..well said!