Will the US Government Be Able to “Track, Hack, and Destroy”…

DJI Matrice 200

According to draft laws distributed to a number of congressional committees, the authorities needs the energy to “track, hack, and destroy” any drone which may pose a menace to safety.

The doc was uncovered by the New York Times, who says that “The Trump administration is asking Congress to give the federal government sweeping powers to track, hack and destroy any type of drone over domestic soil with a new exception to laws governing surveillance, computer privacy and aircraft protection…”

The proposal is a part of the National Defense Authorization Act, which has not but been made public.  The invoice appears to be a response to fears that drones may very well be utilized by terrorists to perform assaults on secured areas.  The doc acknowledges that destruction of drones “may be construed to be illegal under certain laws” and proposes adjustments be made to enable the authorities to use “countermeasures” to handle the menace.

The doc lays out 4 actions that the authorities may take:

  • “Detect, identify, monitor, or track, without prior consent, an unmanned aircraft system…or payload, or cargo, to evaluate whether it poses a threat to the safety or security of a covered facility, location… including by means of interception of or other access to wire, oral, electronic, or radio communications or signals…”
  • “Redirect, disable, disrupt control of, exercise control of, seize, or confiscate, without prior consent, an unmanned aircraft system…”
  • “Use reasonable force to disable, disrupt, damage, or destroy an unmanned aircraft system…”
  • Conduct analysis, testing, coaching on, and analysis of any gear together with any digital gear, to decide its functionality and utility…”

In addition, the proposed invoice would make any drones and payload seized throughout the above operations forfeit to the authorities.

While the proposal is just not totally stunning given current studies of economic drones used abroad in terrorist operations, the sweeping nature of the invoice is trigger for some concern in the trade.  If the authorities can monitor and destroy any drone owned by a citizen that it deems a menace, the chance for misuse or errors in the software of the rule could also be too excessive.

The Commercial Drone Alliance, an advocacy group for the industrial trade, issued this response yesterday: “The safety, security and efficiency benefits of commercial drones are great and vast, but policymaking has lagged behind technology. It is therefore critical that the federal government work diligently to integrate drones into our National Airspace System safely and securely. The Commercial Drone Alliance is committed to working with the federal government to do so. As part of this overall effort, we would support an appropriately tailored measure enabling law enforcement to mitigate drone threats. As but one example, we are interested to ensure that such a measure would protect authorized commercial drone flights. We are studying the draft legislation now and look forward to working with lawmakers to ensure that we are able to open the skies to commercial drones in a timely, safe and secure way.”

The Trump administration had no rapid touch upon the proposal, which was scheduled to be reviewed by representatives from a number of safety businesses throughout a closed-door briefing yesterday.

Miriam McNabb is the CEO of JobForDrones, knowledgeable drone companies market, and a fascinated observer of the rising drone trade and the regulatory surroundings for drones. She writes for DRONELIFE on present information, monetary traits, and FAA laws. Miriam has a level from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of expertise in excessive tech gross sales and advertising for brand spanking new applied sciences.
Email Miriam
TWITTER:@spaldingbarker

Previous Airware Expands Management Team; Grows Board
Next Delair Starts BVLOS Test Flights in Nevada

Check Also

Facial Recognition Drones in Policing: New Surveillance Tool

What’s the news: Lucknow police will be using a Mobile drone vehicle (MDV) equipped with …

Global Healthcare Celebrates Tech Successes & Grapples with …

Courtesy of HIMSS: Opening Night HIMSS 2024 Artificial Intelligence continues to be an encompassing topic …