The first step to building a productive counter-drone plan
By Mary-Lou Smulders, CMO and head of government relations, Dedrone
Physical security is never an easy job. It’s a high-stakes business. Designing an effective access control strategy requires you to think not only as a defender, but rather as an invader. Protecting your customer requires you to anticipate the actions of a determined, resourceful, adversary.
And they are resourceful. The rise of affordable, capable drones presents an ongoing challenge to public and private sector organizations, and the security teams tasked with protecting them.
The first step to developing an effective counter-drone strategy is understanding the problem. To this end, Dedrone has launched its Drone Violations Database based on its US drone detection network. This knowledge center is an accurate, detailed record of every drone airspace violation observed by its expansive Drone Detection Network, which has the ability to protect over 50% of the US population.
For physical security professionals, this tool provides the knowledge required to build effective countermeasures against drone-based attacks, and the tactics employed by unauthorized drone users.
The Scale of the Problem
Even in 2024, many fail to appreciate the risk posed by unauthorized drone usage. That is understandable, they are a relatively new technology. And whereas nearly everyone owns a smartphone or a computer, only a handful of consumers (let alone business users) own drones.
The numbers, however, tell a different story. In 2023, Dedrone’s Drone Detection Network observed over one million airspace violations. At the time, this was the highest number on record. Many of these were likely the result of innocent mistakes made by inexperienced drone operators. Almost two-thirds — 63% — involved drones flying above 400ft. This FAA rule exists to reduce the chances of a crewed aircraft colliding with a UAV while in flight.
The incidents making up the other 37% tend to involve drones entering protected airspace around sensitive areas — like airports, correctional facilities, power plants, and other locations like stadiums full of people with temporarily-restricted airspace.
While these incursions may be the result of operator error, they may also be an operator looking for social media fame or even a the product of deliberate malice. As a recent RAND Corporation report notes, drone incidents at South Carolina prisons grew by 69% between 2019 and 2022. Drones are increasingly used by cybercriminals as a way to conduct actions that would otherwise require the attacker to gain physical access to the building or its network.
While I wish I could say 2023’s record numbers were an anomaly, all evidence points to an increase in unauthorized drone usage in 2024. By September, Dedrone had recorded 900,000 airspace incursions across its network. By the time you read this article, it is likely that we have already established a new record.
A Data-Driven Defensive Strategy
Physical security professionals design systems based upon an understanding of risk. If your client, for example, stores sensitive data on-premises, and is afraid of both external and insider threats, you might choose to install biometric locks throughout the building.
You are able to make this decision because you understand the problem, and you know how to mitigate it. How can you do the same for drones?
It is here where Dedrone’s Drone Violations Database proves invaluable. It can identify over 600 models of drones from over 150 different manufacturers, including home-built drones. This library is continually updated as new UAV models enter the market.
When combined with Dedrone’s historical data on airspace violations, this information lets security professionals identify trends and determine an attacker’s likely tactics.
You could, for example, examine airspace violations and drone activity around locations that are similar to the one you are protecting. The presence of drones equipped with high-quality camera equipment might suggest you need to invest in counter-surveillance measures.
Dedrone’s data is already delivering useful insights into unauthorized drone usage. We have observed that 17% of airspace violations near correctional facilities involve drones manufactured by Autel.
This is unusual for two reasons. First, Autel drones are involved in just 3.7% of all airspace violations in the US. Moreover, Autel had a mere 7% share of the US drone market in 2023. This finding suggests that criminals targeting prisons disproportionately favor Autel drones — likely because they are harder to detect than the more common DJI drone brands.
With more prisons deploying counter-drone technology, this information can help correctional officers design a counter-drone system tuned to their risk profile for airspace incursions.
How Understanding Can Lead to Action
It is certain that 2024 will set new records for drone airspace violations — and for unauthorized drone flights.
With new FAA rules potentially set to relax BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) operations, allowing for greater commercial UAV usage and increasing the number of drones in our skies, it is important that organizations start building a productive counter-drone strategy now.
The good news is that physical security professionals don’t have to guess what the right solution is. The Dedrone Drone Violations Database provides insights on real-world unauthorized drone activity, on a national scale. With this data, you can deduce trends, identify patterns, and start planning your defense.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mary-Lou Smulders is a core member of Dedrone’s C-team and in the two most recent funding rounds. She leads Dedrone’s global marketing and communications team as well as government affairs globally. Previous to Dedrone, Mary-Lou served as CMO at several enterprise software entities including fintech 9th Gear and crisis communication leader AtHoc. Additionally, she served as Sr VP of Global Applications and Services Marketing for Oracle Corporation and started her career as an oil rig engineer.
Visit: https://www.dedrone.com
See more articles on: Dedrone
Source: dedrone.com