January 4, 2024 Drone Industry: Is Data Security the Largest Concern?

Industry perceptions on the concern of data security for uncrewed flight operations tied to law enforcement and critical infrastructure.

Professional drones have become a central technology deployed for public safety and critical infrastructure throughout the US. However, concerns about data security within uncrewed flight operations tied to law enforcement and condition monitoring highlight the need to rethink security, especially for capturing, storing, and sharing data.

In fact, according to a recent interview with the Five Eyes by 60 Minutes, a variety of industries ranging from agriculture and academic research to aviation and robotics are seeing an increase in attempts from foreign entities to steal intellectual property and trade secrets across the country. The scale of the situation goes beyond traditional espionage with large hacking programs and employee manipulation purpose-built to steal proprietary data. Concerns about data security are high, with more than 2,000 active investigations on foreign countries’ attempts to steal private information in the United States.

The Situation

Uncrewed aerial vehicles have become indispensable, unequivocal tools in aiding law enforcement, search and rescue, and other public safety functions where eyes in the sky are invaluable. They provide a range of practical and cost-effective uses, including locating lost hikers in remote areas, tracking perpetrators, and capturing real-time criminal activity.

Meanwhile, the ability to scan and inspect large areas quickly and efficiently is vital for critical infrastructure inspectors, whose work ranges from power grids to solar arrays to factories. These organizations often leverage multiple sensing modalities, LIDAR, thermal, and visible imagery, enabling them to efficiently carry out condition monitoring and predictive maintenance missions, especially in hard-to-reach or dangerous locations. This capability has wholly reimagined how critical infrastructure organizations can improve performance and safety while reducing costs and maintaining legal compliance. 

However, with these capabilities comes additional responsibility. Drone industry professionals and the organizations they represent must ensure the data they capture, analyze, and share does not inadvertently end up in the wrong hands. Recognizing this threat, a handful of states in the United States and some federal agencies have already begun banning the use of certain drones from foreign countries of concern in hopes of getting ahead of potential security threats. Regardless, the resulting legislation and rule changes have brought about confusion and conflicting discourse about what and how drones do and do not comply with new regulations from state to state and government agency to government agency.

To understand the key issues and desires of those in the drone industry more concretely within the critical infrastructure and public safety drone markets, Teledyne FLIR surveyed 733 drone professionals in August 2023, in which about seven in 10 were self-described Part 107 certified drone pilots or those in the process of securing Part 107 certification.

Serious Concern of Unknown Entities Accessing Drone-Captured Data

The survey revealed that data security is a primary concern for most drone-related public safety and critical infrastructure professionals, with 86% of respondents stating that drone security is an important consideration when purchasing a drone platform. This represents one of the top considerations when buying a drone platform and, for a vast majority of those surveyed (69%), a worry that unknown entities could access the data their respective organizations capture and manage from drones.

Despite this concern, nearly 95%  of survey respondents indicate that their organizations operate UAS platforms originating from potential countries of concern. Clearly, for the majority, performance, and budget drive purchase decisions.

The findings highlight the concerns and practical trade-offs faced by drone pilots and their respective organizations today. It demonstrates how the USA drone industry takes data privacy concerns seriously. They want drone solutions that can give them peace of mind, knowing that their respective data can’t be accessed by unknown persons or organizations, especially by countries of concern.

Competing Needs Complicate the Drone Purchasing Process

The survey results show the key challenges commercial, industrial, and governmental UAS operators face trying to balance UAS capabilities, budget, and data security. Budget constraints and historical purchasing trends indicate that lower-cost, high-performance, connected drones from possible “countries of concern” currently dominate the commercial, industrial, and public safety industries. But, with state and federal regulations starting to incorporate requirements that drones originate from domestic companies or those not from noted countries of concern, drone pilots must shift their priorities. They need to focus on purchasing drone platforms with the required capabilities and those with robust features to protect against unauthorized access to data.  

Government regulators will need to look towards funding domestic drone development and procurement as laws change to ensure that industry professionals have access to the best drone technology that is also data secure and cost-effective. Federal governments can help critical bodies such as law enforcement and critical infrastructure-related organizations transition to data-secure drones from companies based in the United States and other authorized regions by making more incentives and grants available to impacted organizations.

Conclusion  

The critical infrastructure and public safety personnel involved in their drone programs recognize the need to maintain data security. It is understood that the data collected, stored, and analyzed from drones is valuable and that safeguarding it is mission-critical. However, the majority of law enforcement and critical infrastructure organizations rely on drones manufactured by organizations located in countries of concern that are potentially adversarial to US domestic and foreign policy interests.

Threats to drone data can come from anywhere and anyone, and ultimately, it is the operators’ responsibility to keep that data safe and secure. Now, it’s more important than ever that companies take the proper measures to ensure their intellectual property can’t be accessed by foreign entities. Procuring drone platforms, tools, and features designed to significantly reduce the odds of a data breach or access from unknown or unwanted hostile organizations or governments all remain high priorities for buyers. 

In response, it’s time for the United States federal and state governments and allied nations to take additional steps to help support the existing drone industry. Government support, not just regulation, can help domestic and allied drone makers offer more secure platforms and platforms that have the required performance at competitive prices.

www.flir.com

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