Dept of Interior Reverses Chinese Drone Decision

[skiptv]

That should be pretty much the end of this thread...

I have always left my politics off these type of boards. But when the politics of stupidity destroys my income, but for no other reason than to stroke the ego of the guy in charge of the country, then I find it's time to speak out. FYI if you followed this event, the Dept of The Interior, just 12 months ago, approved the DJI Drones for government use. They worked with DJI to prevent the 'misplaced concern about data breaches' and then two days ago without warning with no transparency, or citizen input, and only a couple weeks before the China Pres and Trump were to meet, the Dept of Interior grounded the drones? So If you actually have a drone business and earn an income from it, this might be a good time to get political. By the way, I protect my business equally with both parties as I stated the same concerns when Feinstein a democrat from Cali, put her bill on the senate floor which would prevent all drones from operating under 200 feet.
Again, now it's just the Feds banning drones for Fed use, but what happens when its the colleges that receive federal grants, or the states, that get FEMA funds, and finally some of the people here taking real estate photos fo extra cash.
I'll look to the site administrators to let this post stay. This is not about Impeachment, or Russia, this is about the a real serious threat for Commercial Drone Pilots. It more important than how to use Lidar, or apply for a waiver or how much to charge a client? It's literally about the Commercials Pilot Future, and future of their career or business.

Prior to two days ago, here is where the Dept of The Interior was with DJI. So What Changed??

Interior Department Approves DJI Government Edition - Unmanned Aerial

DJI’s new Government Edition drone solution has been validated by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). The federal agency completed a 15-month assessment of the flight, payload and data management assurance performance of DJI Matrice 600 Pro and Mavic Pro drones equipped with Government...

unmanned-aerial.com

 

[PatR]

I think you need to make a better review of the DoI report history. The investigative report used to justify acceptance of DJI was not prepared by an entity qualified to perform such an investigation.

The potential problems are not limited to DJI, they are inclusive of any brand using Chinese components that can, and do, auto link to a web server. Very little research is required to establish Chinese companies have been making products that auto report back to China. Of course non Chinese companies do this as well but they don’t have a legal mandate to provide anything they collect be given to a government intelligence agency. OTOH, our government bypasses such a requirement by simply capturing, storing, and reviewing all broadcast digital and voice transmissions while using extremely invasive (and likely illegal) electronic search tools to extract the contents of cell phones.

 

[skiptv]

I think you need to make a better review of the DoI report history. The investigative report used to justify acceptance of DJI was not prepared by an entity qualified to perform such an investigation.

The potential problems are not limited to DJI, they are inclusive of any brand using Chinese components that can, and do, auto link to a web server. Very little research is required to establish Chinese companies have been making products that auto report back to China. Of course bon Chinese companies do this as well but they don’t have a legal mandate to provide anything they collect to be given to a government intelligence agency. OTOH, our government bypasses such a requirement by simply capturing, storing, and reviewing all broadcast digital and voice transmissions while using extremely invasive (and likely illegal) electronic search tools to extract the contents of cell phones.

You might find this article to be helpful.

Interior Department Approves DJI Government Edition - Unmanned Aerial

DJI’s new Government Edition drone solution has been validated by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). The federal agency completed a 15-month assessment of the flight, payload and data management assurance performance of DJI Matrice 600 Pro and Mavic Pro drones equipped with Government...

unmanned-aerial.com

 

[Fred Garvin]

It’s my understanding, and please correct me if I’m wrong.....but this only applies to federal agency purchases and use under federal government contract.....right?

So, since I don’t do any work for the government or operate my business within a government agency....this has no immediate effect on my operations. My operations are completely within the private sector.

I do understand that this is indeed a slippery slope which could lead to further reaching restrictions, and something like this extending into the private sector, along with surrendering control of airspace below 200’ to property owners could, in effect, completely cripple the burgeoning drone industry before it really gets going. (In the USA)

 

[PatR]

Fred,

Your first paragraph in the previous post is correct with applicability.

There will always be someone that wants to turn this stuff into a “government hates China” ethnic, or people versus brand type argument. That simply isn’t true. It’s about fair business practices on one hand and designs that are inherently dangerous from a data security and surveillance perspective on the other. Any drone that requires linkage with the web at any point, from initial check in activation, firmware updates, App usage, GEO unlocks, map data processing, WiFi connectivity, etc., is not and cannot be secure. They have to be totally isolated from any possible web connectivity from the moment they are first powered up until they are retired.

DJI blatantly collects data, as established by the fact they can deny flight or approve in areas via their GEO software, and they provide flight data to law enforcement agencies. Since the aircraft had to be linked to a DJI account after purchase, registering a serial number to a person that had to provide personally identifiable information, DJI knows who is flying, where they are flying, and when they are flying. That is not how you maintain operational security.

Operational security is serious stuff. If people don’t understand how it works they are the first broken link in the chain.

 

[LUIS MARTINEZ]

I have always left my politics off these type of boards. But when the politics of stupidity destroys my income, but for no other reason than to stroke the ego of the guy in charge of the country, then I find it's time to speak out. FYI if you followed this event, the Dept of The Interior, just 12 months ago, approved the DJI Drones for government use. They worked with DJI to prevent the 'misplaced concern about data breaches' and then two days ago without warning with no transparency, or citizen input, and only a couple weeks before the China Pres and Trump were to meet, the Dept of Interior grounded the drones? So If you actually have a drone business and earn an income from it, this might be a good time to get political. By the way, I protect my business equally with both parties as I stated the same concerns when Feinstein a democrat from Cali, put her bill on the senate floor which would prevent all drones from operating under 200 feet.
Again, now it's just the Feds banning drones for Fed use, but what happens when its the colleges that receive federal grants, or the states, that get FEMA funds, and finally some of the people here taking real estate photos fo extra cash.
I'll look to the site administrators to let this post stay. This is not about Impeachment, or Russia, this is about the a real serious threat for Commercial Drone Pilots. It more important than how to use Lidar, or apply for a waiver or how much to charge a client? It's literally about the Commercials Pilot Future, and future of their career or business.

Prior to two days ago, here is where the Dept of The Interior was with DJI. So What Changed??

Interior Department Approves DJI Government Edition - Unmanned Aerial

DJI’s new Government Edition drone solution has been validated by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). The federal agency completed a 15-month assessment of the flight, payload and data management assurance performance of DJI Matrice 600 Pro and Mavic Pro drones equipped with Government...

unmanned-aerial.com

"I have always left my politics off these type of boards. " Best laugh of the day.

 

[dirkclod]

That should be pretty much the end of this thread...

You mean the post I just removed..it didn’t but if it continues with post like that i will end it.
Guys this is a slippery slope please don’t slide down it.