Here's something to think about:
In China, there tends to be a strong relationship between private enterprise and the communist party government, no matter how much the two try to distance themselves from each other. It is hard for companies, and people in other parts of the world who have not worked with China to understand just how intertwined business and politics is in China, much more so than in most other countries.
In 2017 China passed the National Intelligence Law which states, “any organization or citizen shall support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work in accordance with the law,” and the state “protects” any individual and organization that aids it. Another law, the 2014 counter espionage law states, “when the state security organ investigates and understands the situation of espionage and collects relevant evidence, the relevant organizations and individuals shall provide it truthfully and may not refuse.”
A leaked report from ICE (immigration and customs enforcement agency) in the USA claims that DJI drones are being used to gather critical US infrastructure, law enforcement, and more. ICE claims in the memo that the information it has come from a reliable source within the drone industry who has first and secondhand access. The main concerns it outlined are the following,
- DJI is providing law enforcement and critical infrastructure data to China
- DJI Go and Skypixel Apps grab facial recognition data even if the feature is disabled
- Uses full names, images, and videos, phone numbers, and computer credentials, are automatically uploaded to “cloud storage systems” in Hong Kong and Taiwan “which the Chinese government most likely has access to.”
- The Chinese government is using DJI UAS as an inexpensive, hard-to-trace method to collect info on U.S. critical assets … directorates most likely receiving the data from DJI’s cloud are the offices responsible for defense, critical infrastructure, traffic control, and cyber offense
- Security researcher Kevin Finisterre was threatened by DJI when he pointed out some of these bugs in the system
- Much of the information collected [by DJI products] includes proprietary and sensitive critical infrastructure data, such as detailed imagery of power control panels, security measures for critical infrastructure sites, or materials used in bridge construction.
- DJI is providing the Chinese government with data to help it determine which assets to acquire in the U.S.
There must be Drone Manufacturers in the US who make Drones comparable to DJI?
Captain Bill