DEC 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 12

AROUND THE COUNTRY
WASHINGTON, DC.
Drones manufactured in China commonly used in
America now pose a huge national security threat.
By Patrick Droney,
Reprinted from Law Enforcement
Today
WASHINGTON, DC- While Joe
Biden apparently cozied up to the
Chinese Communist Party in his
shady business dealings with his
son Hunter, we are now seeing a
disturbing trend taking hold in the
U.S. as hundreds of so-called “recreational
drones” manufactured by
Chinese company DJI have found
their way into restricted airspace
around Washington, D.C., Politico
reports.
According to the report, hundreds
of Chinese-manufactured
drones have ended up in the skies
over Washington, DC. While the
drones are allegedly designed with
“geofencing” restrictions which
are designed to keep them outside
sensitive locations, there are
simple workarounds which enable
users to bypass those restrictions.
The existence of the Chinese
drones is according to sources
privy to meetings before the Senate
Homeland Security, Commerce
and Intelligence committees, federal
officials and drone industry
experts.
The Politico piece is based on
anonymous sources, seven in total
comprised of government officials,
lawmakers, congressional
staffers and contractors. Politico
wrote the reasons for remaining
anonymous is because the sources
are not authorized to speak publicly
about the discussions, some
of which were classified.
While the sources do not believe
the drones are being directed by
the Chinese communist government,
the violation of restricted
airspace marks a new chapter
in users being able to use the
somewhat inexpensive, but rather
sophisticated drones which are
typically used for recreation and
commerce.
The new report comes as Congress
is discussing possibly enhancing
current federal authorities
in order to track the drones as
possible security threats.
“This is part of a trend of commercial
drones for potentially
nefarious reasons,” Rachel Stohl,
vice president of research programs
at the Stinson Center, a
think tank that tracks the global
drone market, said.
“We’re seeing in conflict zones,
in other theaters, the reliance and
use of commercial drones.”
“These may be just innocent
data collection—or really just
looking around, seeing what’s
happening—and not in a systemized
way,” Stohl continued. “But
the potential, of course, is that
eventually they could be more
dangerous.”
It is unknown what exactly
Congress might do to address the
threat posed by the drones. While
some legislation has been introduced,
few have made it to the
committee level, Politico wrote.
Moreover, the limited authority
currently enjoyed by non-defense
federal agency is set to soon
expire unless Congress votes to
extend it. It is currently covered
under the continuing resolution
used to fund the federal government
in lieu of actually approving
a federal budget. That resolution
expires on Dec. 16.
While the Chinese government
may not be directly overseeing the
swarm of unauthorized drones,
DJI has received funding from
investment entities owned by the
Chinese government which DJI has
desperately tried to conceal.
Worse still, with the apparent
ease which recreational users can
evade flight restrictions, it isn’t a
reach to suggest that the high-def
cameras and other sensors might
be easily hacked for intelligence
gathering operations.
“Any technological product
with origins in China or Chinese
companies holds a real risk and
potential of vulnerability that can
be exploited both now and in a
time of conflict,” Sen. Marco Rubio
(R-FL), vice chair of the Senate
Intelligence Committee, said in a
recent interview.
“They’re manufactured in China
or manufactured by a Chinese
company, but they’ll put a sticker
on it of some non-Chinese company
that repackages it, so you don’t
even know that you’re buying it.”
He continued, “But anything
that’s technological has the capability
of having embedded, in the
software or in the actual hardware,
vulnerabilities that can be
exploited at any given moment.”
DJI however denies any involvement
with the Chinese communist
government and says it has no
control over what customers do
once they purchase their drones.
“Unfortunately, while DJI puts
everything in place to identify and
notify our customers about areas
in which they can’t fly, we can’t
control the end users’ behavior,”
said Arianne Burrell, communications
manager for DJI Technology,
Inc.
“But we do everything from our
end to ensure that they do follow
the regulations that are set out by
their localities,” she continued.
The drone maker is the world’s
largest manufacturer of personal
and professional drones while its
products account for most of the
recreational drones flown in the
U.S.
Both the government as well
as security experts have long
expressed concerns about Chinese
communist ties to the drone
maker, with the Pentagon banning
purchase of Chinese-made drones
in 2017.
The Department of the Interior,
operator of the largest civilian
drone fleet in the federal government,
banned the use of DJI
drones except in emergencies.
Sill, thousands of federal, state
and local law enforcement agencies
still rely heavily on DJI drones
according to a 2020 study, Politico
wrote.
That study showed public safety
agencies in the states of California,
Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin and
Florida are heavy users of drones,
with the majority of those being
DJI drones.
Commercial drones use GPS for
navigation and that prevents them
from operating within Washington,
D.C.’s restricted airspace. They
also have instructions for users
about the need to follow local
regulations, however it is some-
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