White House, among others, have raised security concerns surrounding the use of foreign-made drones, especially ones built in China. At least some of those fears may have been unfounded, however, according to a new analysis conducted by the Pentagon. A report issued in May cleared the use of some drones made by Chinese manufacturer Da Jiang Innovations, better known by the acronym DJI, for use by the U.S. government. Nevertheless, many American officials believe these threats remain and are pressing, and must be addressed.
According to a summary of the report reviewed by The Associated Press, as well as other outlets, the Pentagon found no evidence of backdoor exploits or harmful software in two drone models made by DJI specifically for the U.S. government. “DJI Government Edition versions that were tested, show no malicious code or intent and are recommended for use by government entities and forces working with US services,” the summary reportedly says, though the bulk of the report remains classified. When reached by The Associated Press, the report’s author, U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Adam Prater, who is assigned to U.S. Army Special Operations Command, declined to comment and said he was not authorized to speak to the media.
There are growing fears about potential backdoor exploits being integrated into the electronic components of various Chinese-made products, including reports about computer chips that may have been tampered with. This, in turn, has led many U.S. lawmakers and military leaders to raise questions about whether drones manufactured in China might be used to transfer sensitive data from inside the United States to that country’s intelligence agencies or the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). DJI, based in China’s Shenzhen province, produces some 80% of the world’s commercial drones, and many of these end up in the fleets of U.S. government agencies and departments. Nearly every list of best-selling or best-performing drones ranks DJI models among the top, if not the top across the board.
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