Spies in the Sky: US Sends Warning to Chinese Drone Makers

The DHS suggests that this information could be shared beyond the company, possibly with Chinese authorities.

Industry leader warned

While the report does not name any specific vendors it's clear that DJI is in the spotlight. The Shanghai-based company is responsible for almost 75% of global drone sales.

"The United States government has strong concerns about any technology product that takes American data into the territory of an authoritarian state that permits its intelligence services to have unfettered access to that data or otherwise abuses that access," the DHS report reads according to CNN.

Data might end up in the wrong hands

"Those concerns apply with equal force to certain Chinese-made (unmanned aircraft systems)-connected devices capable of collecting and transferring potentially revealing data about their operations and the individuals and entities operating them, as China imposes unusually stringent obligations on its citizens to support national intelligence activities.”

Observers say this last sentence is key. It essentially suggests that despite a company's best intentions or policies, the government can pressure them to share data without disclosing that to its customers.

DJI makes adjustments to reassure U.S customers

DJI may have seen something like this coming as they have recently made some changes to help protect their place in the U.S market. The company offers its customers the ability to operate their drones in ‘local data mode’, similar to a smartphone’s ‘aeroplane mode’.

Corporate customers can host their fleet management on their own IT systems or in an independent cloud rather than the company's data servers. In a statement, DJI assured customers that they now have “full and complete control over how their data is collected, stored, and transmitted. At DJI, safety is at the core of everything we do, and the security of our technology has been independently verified by the US government and leading US businesses.”

DJI added that “for government and critical infrastructure customers that require additional assurances, we provide drones that do not transfer data to DJI or via the internet, and our customers can enable all the precautions DHS recommends. Every day, American businesses, first responders, and U.S. government agencies trust DJI drones to help save lives, promote worker safety, and support vital operations, and we take that responsibility very seriously.”

At the moment the DHS report is just a warning and no directives have been put in place, but such a move could have a heavy impact on commercial and governmental drone use in the US.