Do we truly need to ground drones?

This morning Florida Senator Marco Rubio tweeted, "A Chinese company owns tiktok_us + by law Chinese companies are controlled by the Communist Party = TikTok is controlled by the Chinese government.” An immediate correlation was made to the State of Florida’s reaction by Florida Digital (FLDS) addressing drones. 

Senator Rubio is 100% correct about the danger of TikTok. FLDS is equally correct that drone technology connected to companies controlled by China are potential threats to our state and national security. That said, China produces 97% of U.S. antibiotics and about 80% of active pharmaceutical ingredients used in American drugs. And 7 out of 10 smartphones come from China. The potential for espionage exists almost everywhere we look in our daily lives. Threats will always be there. What matters is that we respond rather than react to threats.  

Florida’s water treatment plant in Oldsmar was hacked. This proved beyond doubt that our public drinking water was not only susceptible to cyberattack but was actively under attack. We did not react by shutting off water and requiring the public purchase bottled water from a few specific companies. The correct response is to identify the attack and respond with proven tools and resources that strengthen and protect our networks as a means of lowering the risk for future attacks.

In Florida’s case, FLDS selected a different path for the drone threat driven by concerns from the “Dept of Defense, Treasury, Commerce, Interior, and Homeland Security,” according to Secretary Pedro A. from the Florida Department of Management Services (DMS). Although concerns and potential threats are far different than identified instances, FLDS took a proactive step drafting Rule 60GG-2.0075 calling for the immediate halt of drone use by any manufacturer owned or controlled by a foreign country of concern. A ‘better safe than sorry’ approach often seen in government. 

Florida Digital Service Rule: 60GG-2.0075 Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Minimum Security Requirements.  

• A Governmental Agency may not purchase, acquire, or otherwise use a Drone or any related services or equipment produced by a manufacturer domiciled in, or produced by a manufacturer the Governmental Agency reasonably believes to be owned or controlled (in whole or in part) by, a Foreign Country of Concern.  
• DMS: “The state of Florida and governmental agencies hold a variety of data on Floridians, strategically important information about facilities, and sensitive data such as investigatory materials for law enforcement purposes, to name a few. Balancing the interest in protecting the data of the state of Florida, Floridians, and partners against the ease of use of drone technology is the intent of the statutory language and this rule.

Last week during the The Florida Senate Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs, Space and Domestic Security meeting Senator Tom Wright (R) and Senator Jason Pizzo (D) delivered a blistering dressing down to Secretary Pedro Allende, whose office oversees FLDS, the agency that created and enacted Rule 60GG-2.0075. Although not expressed, FLDS is correct about the threat potential of drones connected to any company in China. The explanation give by Senator Pizzo that “Drones in Fort Lauderdale are used for seeing other boats, people, trucks, crowd control… that’s not giving away something that China's tourists couldn’t see,” comes from an assumption that any reasonable person would make. Most people believe it is only video content being transmitted. In reality one needs to go no further than the DJI website itself to find substantial evidence that drones are truly gathering far more information than what we see on their camera feed. 

www.dji.com/flysafe/geo-map

Drones and apps do not only collect information on the area they are flying/recording  

Listed DJI GEO Zones  

• Restricted Zones  
• Altitude Zones  
• Authorization Zones  
• Warning Zones  
• Enhanced Warning Zones  
• Regulatory Restricted Zones  
• Recommended Zones 

DJI’s GEO System delineates where flight may raise concerns, and where flight is restricted.  

• Sensitive national-security locations  
• Airports  
• Class E Airspace  
• Power plants  
• Prisons  
• Government bldgs.  
• Major stadiums  
• Military installations  
• Emergency situations  

Experienced drone operators know that the data showcased on the DJI website is updated at the beginning of each flight. This provides up to date notices that ensure a drone does not enter regulated air space. Taking pictures of boats and people is not the problem. Even footage captured by law enforcement is not the true issue here. The danger comes from ancillary data that is updated, collected and transmitted while lawfully and safely operating your drone.

You may be flying over a pond in your back yard, but your drone knows you can fly up to 4 miles in any direction at speeds up to 90mph, and collects/transmits data accordingly. Fort Lauderdale, as reference by the Senator, has plenty of safe areas to fly a drone. It is also home to one of the three busiest cruise ports in the world, an executive airport and an international airport. So if you happen to be filming your dog enjoying a Puppuccino at Starbucks on NW 62nd St in the middle of Fort Lauderdale, it’s almost guaranteed that your drone, and app, are grabbing info from the airport that’s 2 miles away. 

Where does that put us? 

The Florida Technology Council recognizes the attempt by FLDS to protect the data of Floridians through the creation of Rule 60GG-2.0075, however, the Council also notes there are steps to address concerns that would not have been viewed as overreaching or endangering Florida’s law enforcement community as correctly voiced by both Senators Wright and Pizzo.   

It’s difficult to argue with a Police Chief who says that the immediate grounding of all law enforcement drones unnecessarily endangers the lives of police officers. Without any factual data showing a single instance of drones sending data to unknown entities or foreign countries of concern, as noted by Secretary Allende, it is reasonable to provide law enforcement agencies alternate options to address FLDS concerns, which although valid left officers and citizens without the protections delivered daily by drone services.  

The Florida Technology Council would like to offer leadership a “Plan B” to consider while keeping our officers protected.  

A simplified description of a drone is to view it as a flying computer with a camera or sensor attached. Drones are comprised of firmware and software that allow it to operate and communicate. Communication between the drone and controller is often through radio-frequency (RF) transmission, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. One might believe their drone only talks to their controller or computer on the ground, however, today's drones are equipped with a GPS module that allows them to know their location relative to a network of orbiting satellites. Connecting to signals allows the drone to perform functions such as position hold, autonomous flight, return to home, and waypoint navigation, as is the case with DJI drones.

Does this mean that DJI drones communicate with a Satellite? No they do not communicate with a satellite. In order to establish a 'home point' it communicates with SIX or more satellites before it even takes off. Knowing this fact helps a person better understand the communication concerns by FLDS.  

Viewing drones as flying computers also makes it easier to understand how a person or agency can protect themselves without costing taxpayers millions of dollars for replacement equipment. It’s even easier to understand if you are able to adopt the mindset of a hacker. Hackers use sniffer software to capture, decode, and analyze packets of data. A sniffer is a tool that gives them the ability to “sniff” or monitor your network traffic for information. This allows hackers to spy on people and steal their personal data, usually with the goal of identity theft or another form of fraud. Bad hacker! Bad!

In the right hands these same sniffers, used in a controlled environment, would provide operators the ability to detect any transmitting information to or from an unauthorized party via a Bluetooth signal, WiFi signal, cellular signal and even satellite signal. 

We are talking about the safety of our officers and our nation, so let’s not stop there. Drones are loaded with sensors that collect information, such as changes in speed, distance, temperature, wind, chemical signals, light, sound, and even identify the presence of magnetic objects. Monitoring the system data will tell you where information is being sent and what data is being received. 

As an alternative to grounding and replacing suspicious drones, the Florida Technology Council recommends all government agencies, including law enforcement agencies, test their drones for unauthorized communication prior to use. If an organization does not have a tech trained in this area, the Council encourages them to reach out to their local college or university for assistance. Almost every Florida university and college has a cybersecurity program filled with students who would love to get their hands on a project like this.

The Council further recommends that FLDS consider phasing in requirements for future drone purchases, giving organizations the ability and opportunity to test equipment for potential threats prior to implementation. And finally, the Council recommends all drones discovered to be transmitting information to an unauthorized location be immediately turned over to the FBI.