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Important Article Re: DJI Aircraft

15PSI

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Thanks for sharing the article. I‘d be curious to read opposing views from other industry experts, like the author. I don’t know all the security concerns, but I dabble in cybersecurity on my day job, and would like to learn more of what is concerning government policy makers.
 
According to the WHO this article might be based on problem F1x.5
 
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It is the international classification by the WHO for a paranoid disorder.

Well that would make sense when you think that there are far more Americans on here complaining about the over zealous restrictions of the DJI No Fly Zones and Geo-fencing.

I thing that when the POTUS visits somewhere there is a NFZ of about 5-10 miles and along any rout etc. These are temporary NFZ's so the US government can stop DJI drones flying in sensitve places quite easily. There is no chance of China spying via DJI though any civilian flyer.

Government flyers who want to fly in DJI NFZ's should not be using a consumer drone anyway. There are other home grown drones that can be used for that. In fact for government use I would think they would want "tweaked" systems and the only place to get that would be a home grown supplier. the same would be true of any government not just the US one.

The film industry uses a vast array of drones 99% of which are not DJI so no government should need to use one.
As noted Google, maps.google, bing, Youtube and Facebook (all of which are US systems) are far more useful for gaining intelligence on the USA. OTOH TikTok is no threat at all.

So WHO F1x.5 certainly applies.
 
To be honost, people are crazy about data being collected but at te same time, you see them sharing everything including the content and condition of their digested food. Not only in the USA, also in Europe. So if you know your data will be collected if you use a(ny) electronic device, just be selectiv in what you use where end when.

Did you know that all modern cars have an almost constant data-exchange with their producers to enable them to see structural problems at an early moment?
 
My career is cyber security, I spent 11+ years in the USAF, I’m a Private Pilot, and own a Mavic 2. I only say all this to let you know I have well formed and strong opinions on this subject. I also live within 5 miles of a busy GA airport and have FAA approval to fly within 0.2 miles of my house.

Mr Schulman’s points are somewhat valid, but biased based upon his job.

Cybersecurity - the threat from covert surveillance is real. I have seen a network router that had been tampered with, and I also maintain a security clearance, so please believe me this isn’t a game.

FAA safety - 2 days ago I watched a guy flying a drone near my house but couldn’t confront him. He looked inexperienced, and I wanted to ask if he had approval to fly near the airport but he was gone when I walked back over. As a Private pilot I always wonder about drones when I get in that crucial last 3 miles from the runway below 500 feet.

Executive orders - I am dealing with an EO written in May designed to protect the electrical grid from foreign technology. Our company is having to dig deep into our supply chain to identify the risks that could lead to a remote shutdown or poisoning of our components installed at power plants in the US. Luckily we are good at this, but it’s allowed us to realize the motivation, and it’s largely (not completely) political. The real initiative is bringing technology manufacturing back to the US, and it’s doing so by banning manufacturing from countries considered adversaries in the name of national defense. Secondly, it achieves the goal by pointing to cybersecurity ”looseness” in the American market which is very real - any Tik Tok users out there??

I love flying my drone, even under the rules we have. Please don’t take my comments above as negativity toward the hobby and profession (I have Part 107). But take this last comment with a grain of salt. I also spent 4 years at the Pentagon and know intimately how bureaucrats think and act. The regulation writers have a mission of developing policy that covers a wide industry while protecting the country and balancing the freedoms Americans expect. It’s not an easy task, but the last thing they worry about is the freedoms because they don’t lose their jobs over that part, only the politicians do. Washington DC is full of people with different priorities, and making “perfect” policy isn’t one of them.

We need to advocate hard for our hobby, but do so realizing that we are flying directly into the face of other American principles (being a superpower) that we are proud of.
 
My career is cyber security, I spent 11+ years in the USAF, I’m a Private Pilot, and own a Mavic 2. I only say all this to let you know I have well formed and strong opinions on this subject. I also live within 5 miles of a busy GA airport and have FAA approval to fly within 0.2 miles of my house.

Mr Schulman’s points are somewhat valid, but biased based upon his job.

Cybersecurity - the threat from covert surveillance is real. I have seen a network router that had been tampered with, and I also maintain a security clearance, so please believe me this isn’t a game.

FAA safety - 2 days ago I watched a guy flying a drone near my house but couldn’t confront him. He looked inexperienced, and I wanted to ask if he had approval to fly near the airport but he was gone when I walked back over. As a Private pilot I always wonder about drones when I get in that crucial last 3 miles from the runway below 500 feet.

Executive orders - I am dealing with an EO written in May designed to protect the electrical grid from foreign technology. Our company is having to dig deep into our supply chain to identify the risks that could lead to a remote shutdown or poisoning of our components installed at power plants in the US. Luckily we are good at this, but it’s allowed us to realize the motivation, and it’s largely (not completely) political. The real initiative is bringing technology manufacturing back to the US, and it’s doing so by banning manufacturing from countries considered adversaries in the name of national defense. Secondly, it achieves the goal by pointing to cybersecurity ”looseness” in the American market which is very real - any Tik Tok users out there??

I love flying my drone, even under the rules we have. Please don’t take my comments above as negativity toward the hobby and profession (I have Part 107). But take this last comment with a grain of salt. I also spent 4 years at the Pentagon and know intimately how bureaucrats think and act. The regulation writers have a mission of developing policy that covers a wide industry while protecting the country and balancing the freedoms Americans expect. It’s not an easy task, but the last thing they worry about is the freedoms because they don’t lose their jobs over that part, only the politicians do. Washington DC is full of people with different priorities, and making “perfect” policy isn’t one of them.

We need to advocate hard for our hobby, but do so realizing that we are flying directly into the face of other American principles (being a superpower) that we are proud of.

Thank you for sharing your opinion. Your background/experience is substantive, yet not singular in the drone community. I agree with some of your points
 
The biggest problem is, that a lot of popular politics is based on fear, not on sense.
About 40 years ago, as I was in the army and based in Germany, we had a meeting with several higher ranked nato-officers. One of the things we spoke about was how to increase security for the base. An older participant who was well experienced in security said, that a fool would always try, no matter how high we put up the fence and how many people with guns we put out. Simply because this fool would not care about his own life, he would be happy to die for his ideals. He warned us, not to let our decissions be based upon the threat of what a fool possibly could do but on common sense

I think that in todays world, with a globalized system of communication, where the US, the Russions, the Israelis, the Germans and who ever you could think of all try to gain or keep acces to all possible sources of information, we should be very carefull not to get caught in the paranoid idea of what "the Chinese" or who ever else possibly could do to us. Keep security at the level of common sense, just as you lock your door when you leave your home or do not smoke in bed when you go to sleep.

Yes, data is collected, not only by the Chinese, the US is not better (nor worse), but does that mean that we should live in constant fear? I prefer not to.

And maybe, if we all step down a little and stop seeing threads in everybody else, we make the first step to a safer world. Because if I do not fear, I do not see a threat in everybody else, so I do not run in defence mode, which is a threat to even the innocent bystander.
 

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