Does anyone know the type of security used between the controller - drone - controller. In regards to mitigating interception and "hijacking" the signals/data from an outside operative.
Autel Security
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Cicero24
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Jason Bourne and Jack Reacher are seen roaming in the chats time to time. Maybe they’ll chime in on the topic of counter ops.
The reality is; there is nothing you can do about it so either fly or don't fly. I would imagine there's not much if any security but the chances of a hacker planning on hijacking a drone and being within range of you at the exact time you are flying the drone is pretty much slim to none; not to mention there is little to gain from hacking a drone; its not like a big corporation where there is plenty of financial incentive.
Funny thing is. even the military drones have been hacked many times: Militants Hack Unencrypted Drone Feeds (eweek.com) so I am sure any consumer grade drone has far less protection than that. The bad news is there's no financial incentive for consumer drone makers to add more security to their drones. The good news is there's also no financial incentive to hacking consumer drones not to mention the whole within range requirement.
Even if somehow a consumer drone maker decided to just spend the millions in R&D to integrate real encryption into their video and control feeds, they would not only never recover the costs, they would lose customers due to the decreased battery life, decreased range, or increased size of the drone; there's simply no free ride.
It's kind of ironic though, DJI did put extensive firmware security into their latest drones to make sure the geofencing could not be removed and the firmware could not be overriden; how's that for focusing on what's important.
DJI supporting geofencing is why I never even considered any of their drones, restricting a user out of the box and forced updates is disgusting on so many levels.
They might make a solid product but having so many restrictions is unacceptable.
They might make a solid product but having so many restrictions is unacceptable.
I didn't think it was that bad at first....I just stopped updating the firmware for all of my DJI products, stopped updating the app, and kept the tablet in airplane mode. But I got the DJI Mini 2 and had to get the other app to fly it....they must have updated something else on my iPad when I did that....all of a sudden geofencing got really invasive, and it force landed my Mavic Pro into the ocean less than 2wks later.
DJI had irked me for a long time (forced email signup, forced activation process, endless warnings and popups in the middle of a flight, constant geofencing warnings, etc.) but until now they were the only real game in town. Here's to hoping Autel survives and thrives.
Wow it forced a landing in the water ?!, that is insane and I would not let that go especially when it should “return to home” if geofencing keeps messing with it not just land where it is.
The more I hear about DJI the more I shake my head saying they are a terrible company. Forced e-mail sign up , and forced activation ? what is this a nanny state, or some big brother nonsense, hell with all that I would not even bother if DJI was the only one. Hell I refused to buy a drone due to just knowing how much DJI was humping geofencing for many years,
Autel got a customer because of the “you can fly it out of the box”, and no geofencing, I do not see any reason to jump through all that garbage just to play around or get good nature footage with a drone.
The more I hear about DJI the more I shake my head saying they are a terrible company. Forced e-mail sign up , and forced activation ? what is this a nanny state, or some big brother nonsense, hell with all that I would not even bother if DJI was the only one. Hell I refused to buy a drone due to just knowing how much DJI was humping geofencing for many years,
Autel got a customer because of the “you can fly it out of the box”, and no geofencing, I do not see any reason to jump through all that garbage just to play around or get good nature footage with a drone.
What about the authorities intercepting the telemetry and pilot location on the ground?
Is there any way they can do that? Something similar to Aeroscope from DJI?
Is there any way they can do that? Something similar to Aeroscope from DJI?
UasDriver
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I believe it's the "law" (RID) in 2023, wear a flack jacket under your orange vest
What about if you want to fly incognito? Is it possible to do that now with the actual drone line-up?
I had never encountered that in all of my years of flying DJI drones and I have been flying them since 2014. But I had noticed it started adding more and more popups which is when I stopped updating (high wind warning, visual line of sight warning, above takeoff point warning, unknown airspace warning, geofence database outdated warning, check for updates recommendation, etc., etc.) and each one stays on the screen until you close it, some even made you click the checkbox, then ok....all while the drone was in the air, talk about a safety hazard.
The final straw was when I lost my Mavic Pro. I had gotten flight permission through LAANC using Airmap, wasn't even in one of DJI's own geofencing "red zones" and it let me take off. 2 min into the flight it suddenly stated I'm in a no fly zone and would only hover, no RTH, it would not increase altitude, and had a 5 second countdown timer which could not be cancelled. The Mavic was literally less than 30' from the shore and 10' above the ocean and there was nothing I could do about it except watch it make a perfect landing right into the ocean. I can only imagine if that had happened over people, cars, boats, or expensive real estate. The same day I did my research and discovered Autel.
Autel has been a complete breath of fresh air in that department. I had grown so accustomed to DJI's invasiveness that I didn't realize how bad it had gotten until I got the EVO II. The DJI P2 and P3 were not like that at all. The true DJI invasion started with the P4, Mavic, and Inspire 2.
At the moment the EVO II is as close as it gets to flying incognito and even with the EVO II, if you upgrade to the latest firmware there is now an activation process which requires an Internet connection before you can connect to the EVO II. I feel like that's the first step Autel is making in the DJI geofencing direction or it could be their first step towards Remote ID but I hope I'm wrong.
In 3yrs when RID takes full effect it will be illegal to fly a drone that is not always broadcasting your location and your drone's location at all times to anyone who wants to know from the moment it takes off to the moment it lands.
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RID is going to create a lot of rogue pilots, people already mess with drones and the people who fly them, having a way to find your location and where your drone will lead to even more trouble.
Not having the freedom to fly without someone monitor you is invasive and makes people wonder if whoever is watching may just shut down your drone for whatever reason and you can’t do anything about it.
Not having the freedom to fly without someone monitor you is invasive and makes people wonder if whoever is watching may just shut down your drone for whatever reason and you can’t do anything about it.
Rubik3x
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ok, here is the truth of the matter. DJI drones, since the P4, ALL BROADCAST THEIR ID. PERIOD. Can you turn this off? Yes. Well....YOU can't, but it can be done.
Can this be hacked and "spoofed"? Yes. It has been done and shown that it can be done. Do Autel drones broadcast their ID? Don't think so, but we have just started looking into the firmware and its capabilities. This could easily be turned on, if supported in their firmware, which I have no direct knowledge that it is. (haven't really looked yet to tell the truth)
As to herien2021's incident of his drones forced landing, I bet it was due to a TFR, which DJI's NFZ now picks up. Installing the FLY app, most likely updated the NFZ database on the phone or tablet. (shared database between DJI apps) You can NEVER, EVER update the app, or update firmware, and always firewall the app from internet access. DJI is very tricky when it comes to their apps...forced updates, data theft etc. (All proven) The DJI Apps will even launch, and connect to the internet in the background....yes, this is also proven fact. This is why you firewall their apps. Autel does not, from what we have seen so far.
Autels latest firmware makes you contact them and register the drone so it activates the warranty. You do NOT need to sign into the Explorer app, so they do not get your account info, UNLESS you want them to by signing into the app...unlike DJI which FORCES you to sign into the app, or you basically can't fly your drone. DJI drones MUST be activated with your account, in order to unlock them to fly. Are there ways around all of this "nanny state" stuff coming out of China on their drones? Yes.
Y E S ! You just need to go to the right place.
*Do I firewall the Autel Explorer app, the same as I firewall all DJI flying apps? No, I do not. This should tell you something.
Can this be hacked and "spoofed"? Yes. It has been done and shown that it can be done. Do Autel drones broadcast their ID? Don't think so, but we have just started looking into the firmware and its capabilities. This could easily be turned on, if supported in their firmware, which I have no direct knowledge that it is. (haven't really looked yet to tell the truth)
As to herien2021's incident of his drones forced landing, I bet it was due to a TFR, which DJI's NFZ now picks up. Installing the FLY app, most likely updated the NFZ database on the phone or tablet. (shared database between DJI apps) You can NEVER, EVER update the app, or update firmware, and always firewall the app from internet access. DJI is very tricky when it comes to their apps...forced updates, data theft etc. (All proven) The DJI Apps will even launch, and connect to the internet in the background....yes, this is also proven fact. This is why you firewall their apps. Autel does not, from what we have seen so far.
Autels latest firmware makes you contact them and register the drone so it activates the warranty. You do NOT need to sign into the Explorer app, so they do not get your account info, UNLESS you want them to by signing into the app...unlike DJI which FORCES you to sign into the app, or you basically can't fly your drone. DJI drones MUST be activated with your account, in order to unlock them to fly. Are there ways around all of this "nanny state" stuff coming out of China on their drones? Yes.
Y E S ! You just need to go to the right place.
*Do I firewall the Autel Explorer app, the same as I firewall all DJI flying apps? No, I do not. This should tell you something.
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RPM
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I agree. My first drone was the DJI MP. Love the drone, still fly it, however, having to ask permission to fly my skies ( USA) FAA, is one thing, NP with that, but to have to ask permission from a company I purchased their product that is in another country's redilcuous.
RPM
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