It should be noted that the vast majority of drone owners use them for their intended use. Nevertheless, the unique characteristics of commonly used devices, especially flying ones, has made them very attractive to be used for illegal activities.
Typical security measures, in most cases, are not an obstacle for drones, for example:
CCTV
-
Drones are small in relation to the image, so motion detection at longer distances will not work (analog systems);
-
For IP CCTV (high resolution transducer) systems, drones can occupy several / several dozen or several hundred pixels, but the speed of the drone works in its favor: the system may detect traffic, but the operator will not see why the traffic has occurred;
-
In rotating camera systems, the motion detection system does not operate during camera rotation or lens focal length;
-
Manually tracking the drone at close range is almost impossible due to the speed of the drone.
Perimeter protection
Drones can fly over sensors without triggering their reaction.
Motion detectors (work height is about 3 m)
-
Drones fly too high, and they are too small to trigger the detector;
-
Traffic detection ranges are small for small objects.
Microwave barriers, infrared barriers
They work only to a certain height. At the highest point, they do not exceed the mounting height plus 10% of that height, so the drones flying over them will not trigger an alarm.
Seismic detectors
Drones do not trigger their reaction.
Examples of threats
Terrorist attacks
In addition to the previously mentioned features, the ease of acquisition and control of drones, and the ability to test in advance of planned tasks, small flying devices are already being used by various criminal organizations.
Scenarios of terrorist attacks using civilian drones are not only analyzed by national security services of various countries, but also physically tested.
Also, many US institutions responsible for national security point to new hazards involving drones.
Przewidywania wykorzystania dronów do działań przestępczych w USA.
Surveillance
Accessible to everyone, drones open up many new possibilities of surveillance. Civil drones, from the beginning of their existence, have been used to observe and record various events and objects from the air.
Field barriers, commonly used protection measures, are not a problem for this type of flying device. Drones have become the cheapest and easiest method of espionage.
Typical examples of using drones to obtain information:
- Acquire photos / videos from private events
- Industrial espionage
- Identify areas of particular protection (facility and infrastructure protection)
Wpływ rynku dronów na m.in. szpiegostwo przemysłowe.
Due to the possibility of getting drones into inaccessible places and the possibility of installing the appropriate equipment on them, drones have also become responsible for stolen data from phones or computers.
An interesting event was the Black Hat 2014 conference in Singapore, organized by an IT protection specialist. The company, using a commercial drone equipped with the appropriate devices, hacked the computers of the meeting’s participants.
Drony, które kradną twoje dane.
Smuggling
Probably the oldest way of using drones to carry out illegal activities. The low probability of detecting not only the drone but also its pilot and the relatively low cost of construction or purchase of the device make it a desirable tool for smuggling. There are even descriptions of different types of drones regarding their properties for smuggling.
Rodzaje dronów przy przemycie narkotyków.
It should be noted that in the majority of cases, visual detection is the main method of detecting such a small and silent flying devices and its neutralization is usually caused by technical problems of the device.
Wykorzystywanie dronów to szmuglowania metaamfetaminy.
Drones can not only be used as a smuggling tool, but can also serve as a warning system for land surveillance.
There are more and more frequent cases of attempts to deliver different objects to prisons using drones:
Czerech mężczyzn zostało aresztowanych za próbę przemytu.
Accidents
There are many types of drone-related accidents. These are due to both pilot error and device failure.
It is natural that with increasing popularity, and therefore the number of drones in the air, the number of accidents around the world will increase.
Many such occurrences take place while using drones with their intended purpose, without the intention of harming anybody or causing material damage. Nevertheless, the consequences of such events can be serious.
Wypadek drona spowodował awarię prądu w Hollywood.
Very often, it is just malfunctions or errors in piloting, not mechanical detection and damage of drones being the main cause of detection and catching the perpetrator of illegal activities using drones.
Events with VIP participation
The VIP threat is treated separately here, as all the cases described above can occur while protecting them. The most famous incident of this type is this case:
Incydent podczas przemówienia Angeli Merkel w Dreźnie.
As you can see in the film in the link above, the drone was kept at a safe distance from the speaker, and the perpetrator of the incident did not have bad intentions apart from the peaceful demonstration of his views. Nevertheless, this case drew the attention of those responsible for VIP protection to the possibility of such a future event, in terms of modifying VIP security procedures and early drone detection to prevent accidents using drones.