DJI, National Security and You

NMUnmanned · May 23, 2019

Meta4 said:
So what's the sensitive information that anyone is ever going to find in your flight data?

Plenty, depending on who you fly for and what you are doing. Regardless of whether you can prove what is being sent, if at all, is vital or sensitive. Some places want complete control over their data, to include any number of federal agencies that utilize commercially available UAS for their needs.

NMUnmanned · May 23, 2019

PatR said:
Just some interesting reading. The fStoppers article might be informative for some people.

Drone Data Security - sUAS News - The Business of Drones

DJI Statement On ICE Report - sUAS News - The Business of Drones

An Open Letter to the UAS Community on Data Security - sUAS News - The Business of Drones

Drone Maker D.J.I. May Be Sending Data to China, U.S. Officials Say

US Suspects DJI Drones Send Data to Chinese Government | Israel Defense

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-14/dji-drones-were-exposed-to-security-flaw/10491150

https://www.wired.com/story/your-drone-can-give-cops-a-surprising-amount-of-your-data/

https://fstoppers.com/aerial/us-army-ban-dji-what-really-going-190937

The Fstoppers article is almost 2 years old.

PatR · May 23, 2019

Age does bot reduce the information value. In fact, it prolly holds it’s value better than the cash in my pocket.

Seriously, Einstein’s theory of relativity is pretty old too but it’s still relevant.

NMUnmanned · May 23, 2019

PatR said:
Age does bot reduce the information value. In fact, it prolly holds it’s value better than the cash in my pocket.

Seriously, Einstein’s theory of relativity is pretty old too but it’s still relevant.

Sure, Compare a news article that is 2 years old and has limited info to the ToR. Seems legit. Information can change, and unless that article has updates to it it can definitely be out of date or contradicted by new info. I am not a fan of using old articles as proof of anything unless nothing else can be found. All to often as info changes, older articles are proven wrong or incomplete.

PatR · May 23, 2019

Just sayin’ that being old doesn’t change what has occurred. DJI has gone to a lot of effort to change public perception since then but the restrictions of their use in certain applications hasn’t changed. As government data security is involved I don’t see them tipping their hand to show what they know or how they got it. Makes it too easy to re-write code to better conceal it, something they have done several times already with flight restriction software.

skiptv · May 25, 2019

This administration is bent on taking down the Chinese, and are any of you really thinking that your DJI drone is capturing some sort of top secret info and data that has not been taken by Russia, China, Israel, or any other country with sophisticated counter intelligence spy agencies. This administration lies about everything. If you are really worried about 'spying' by a foreign government "China" get off your cell phones, stop using your computer, smart TV, Alexa and even your coffee pot. lol, all made in China. The biggest criminal data thief is FaceBook. Tracking everything and every where you go. If China wants data or images from almost anywhere in the USA, just search it out on Facebook or Google. If China wants data on troop deployments just search our own soldiers Instagram feeds from the battle field.

PatR · May 25, 2019

Without intending to go political as the issue is one of economics, the current administration is not trying to take down China, but trying to level and balance the playing field where trade is concerned. China subsidizes companies manufacturing for export and deliberately devalues their currency to obtain advantage. They do this to capture as much of the world market as they can and in doing so cause people in other countries to lose jobs due to companies forced to close because they cannot produce and sell at such low pricing levels. China was supposed to deliver data covering how much subsidization and in what manner the subsidies were being made for different areas of export manufacturing over 15 years ago and has yet to comply, after promising they would do so. China is also raping the environment in order to obtain competitive advantage, violating world CFC agreements to make foam products cheaper than anyone else can by using banned CFC products, which are damaging the ozone layer. What’s taking place is about fair trade.

A similar trade deficit occurred with Japan decades back and tariffs were employed until more balanced trade was obtained.

Mavic Medic · May 25, 2019

Just thought y’all would like to see what crap the media is putting out there

Dave Pitman · May 25, 2019

DJI's latest statement trying to calm the media. The article asks for comments and I sent them mine. Maybe others would like to send them their thoughts.

"Hello,

The article sounds good, but does not address why DJI feels it necessary to require sharing of data, rather than asking, in their TOS. (see attached)

I don't have anything sensitive to worry about personally. But if DJI truly believes that their user's data "Is not their business" and wants to stop the media bleeding, why not really cut the cord and allow the user to update map tiles only without any other interaction with numerous servers when GO goes online.

The article mentions removing sd cards and clearing images on the internal card on the M2 series, but does not address user data which is stored internally (black boxed) of which the user has no control over. How is the user to be assured that this data is not read and uploaded when GO connects to the internet?

In my opinion, it would be better if DJI put some resources into quantifiable assurance that there is no data mining rather than endless media pieces with verbal assurance. For example if a user opts out of any data sharing, and connects GO to the internet (to update map tiles, for example), they should be able to monitor the network connection with WireShark (for example) and see for themselves that the app is not communicating with numerous servers beyond just map tile providers. If you're serious about removing the idea that DJI is scraping data, why not make this happen soon?

Thank you,

Dave Pitman

DJI - Official Website

DJI technology empowers us to see the future of possible. Learn about our consumer drones like DJI Mavic 3 Pro, DJI Mini 4 Pro, DJI Air 3. Handheld products like Osmo Action 4 and Pocket 2 capture smooth photo and video. Our Ronin camera stabilizers and Inspire drones are professional...

content.dji.com

PatR · May 25, 2019

It’s not going away until they eliminate the mandate to have a DJI account and requirement to agree to their EULA, register your equipment, along with your personal info to obtain full use of YOUR equipment. Until then it will remain a data capture net.

R.P..R · May 26, 2019

Dave Pitman said:
DJI's latest statement trying to calm the media. The article asks for comments and I sent them mine. Maybe others would like to send them their thoughts.

"Hello,

The article sounds good, but does not address why DJI feels it necessary to require sharing of data, rather than asking, in their TOS. (see attached)

I don't have anything sensitive to worry about personally. But if DJI truly believes that their user's data "Is not their business" and wants to stop the media bleeding, why not really cut the cord and allow the user to update map tiles only without any other interaction with numerous servers when GO goes online.

The article mentions removing sd cards and clearing images on the internal card on the M2 series, but does not address user data which is stored internally (black boxed) of which the user has no control over. How is the user to be assured that this data is not read and uploaded when GO connects to the internet?

In my opinion, it would be better if DJI put some resources into quantifiable assurance that there is no data mining rather than endless media pieces with verbal assurance. For example if a user opts out of any data sharing, and connects GO to the internet (to update map tiles, for example), they should be able to monitor the network connection with WireShark (for example) and see for themselves that the app is not communicating with numerous servers beyond just map tile providers. If you're serious about removing the idea that DJI is scraping data, why not make this happen soon?

Thank you,

Dave Pitman

DJI - Official Website

DJI technology empowers us to see the future of possible. Learn about our consumer drones like DJI Mavic 3 Pro, DJI Mini 4 Pro, DJI Air 3. Handheld products like Osmo Action 4 and Pocket 2 capture smooth photo and video. Our Ronin camera stabilizers and Inspire drones are professional...

content.dji.com