DEC 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 12

AROUND THE COUNTRY

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- 36 The BLUES The BLUES 37