Popular Chinese-Made Drone Is Found to Have Security Weakness

[LWehrung]

I think I am going to go to a dedicated tablet to fly my M2P. Anyone have suggestions as to which one is best?

Popular Chinese-Made Drone Is Found to Have Security Weakness (Published 2020)

Researchers found a potential vulnerability in an app that helps power the drones, highlighting U.S. officials’ concerns that Beijing could get access to information about Americans.

www.nytimes.com

 

[LBESING]

I'm using an iPad Mini 4 tablet. I started out with a cellphone, but the screen was too small for me. I bought a cheap, Chinese made Android tablet (TeClast P80 Pro on Gearbest) for US$99 and it was pretty good, but any Android device will be drawing power from the remote controller. iPads don't, or at least you have the option to turn off charging. Android won't let you turn off that feature, so it drains the controller's battery faster.

I can fly my M2P thru 4 or 5 batteries with the iPad mini, without needing to recharge the controller or the iPad. With my Android tablet, the controller's battery started sinking fast after the 2nd battery and definitely unsafe after the 3rd (if it lasts that long).

I hope this helps answer your question.

 

[kloogee]

I think I am going to go to a dedicated tablet to fly my M2P. Anyone have suggestions as to which one is best?

Popular Chinese-Made Drone Is Found to Have Security Weakness (Published 2020)

Researchers found a potential vulnerability in an app that helps power the drones, highlighting U.S. officials’ concerns that Beijing could get access to information about Americans.

www.nytimes.com

This really is one of the major problems with the Android OS vs iOS. Android lets any app basically have unfettered access to anything on the phone. Where iOS notifies users and allows them to control access to things like address book, calendars, etc. If using a tablet for flying, then use an iPad and you are good to go.

Secondly, you should understand the source of the report. In the article, it says that Synactiv won’t disclose who paid them do do this research. However, Synactiv is a French company that just so happens to have been paid by Parrot to audit their new Anafi USA drone. I think it’s quite easy to draw the conclusion that Parrot funded this research. Not saying the research should be ignored, but it’s good to understand where a source of information is likely coming from.

 

[Deltadave]

I look at these foreign fear pieces with extreme skepticism.
There's a constant stream like this that fade away. There's nothing your drone will provide that can't be accessed through your PC, cell phone, car computers, Google satellite, foreign sattelites, surveillance video systems.
Go at least three layers deep in researching such claims. Remember, the burden of proof lies on the claim. 99.9% of these is only chicken little syndrome.