Drone jacking could be the next big data breach risk

As the technology and use of unmanned aerial vehicles continues to grow, drone jacking could be the next big data breach risk.

Drones are already used in a number of industries: engineers use them for surveillance; insurance companies reportedly use them for monitoring; and Amazon want to use them to deliver packages to the doorsteps of homes around the world.

Our concerns are simple: if organisations can’t even get data protection right on a systems and software level, how are they going to get it right when it comes to potentially dangerous drones?

What is ‘drone jacking’?

The term ‘drone jacking’ refers to the concept of criminals being able to hijack control of a drone. As the use of similar technologies self-driving cars continues to grow, and concerns are being raised as to whether criminals could hack into cars, the same concerns apply to drones.

Could criminals gain access to their controls via hacking? They are remotely controlled, so there is a doorway for access. Could criminals take full control of a drone or steal data related to the drone?

Why is ‘drone jacking’ a worry?

Think about it: a criminal is successful in committing a drone jacking, and the damage could be massive.

The drone itself could then be used for sinister purposes. Packages – for delivery drones – could be stolen. Footage taken onboard a drone could be stolen.

Perhaps a criminal could hack into a drone without the owner even knowing about it, and only use it when necessary.

In a world where many organisations are failing to fund data protection for their systems and software, how can we be confident that drones will be treated any better? We live in an age where the cybercriminals are getting better at their jobs, and organisations are still failing to protect themselves and protect their customers and stakeholders.

How will drone protection be any different?

Legal protections against ‘drone jacking’

There are already serious concerns over maters like insurance and the capabilities of the drones to avoid injuries and accidents. Not only do we need assurances in place and the formal matters of things like insurance, and perhaps even licenses, but we need to be assured that incidents of potential ‘drone jacking’ are being thoroughly protected against.

Like the self-driving vehicles that we have aired our concerns about in the past, there are still too many unknowns and too little regulation to protect against the worry of drone jacking in my view. These are important considerations that must be made to ensure we don’t jump the gun on this emerging technology.

Mobile working data breach worries

TSB data breach will lead to compensation claims