How To Secure Your Drone From Hackers? 5 Best Way
Are you worried about your drone being hacked? You should be! The number of drones in the sky is only going to increase, and so will the threat from hackers. There have been many incidents where people’s drones were stolen or crashed because the drone was hacked. That’s why it is important to understand how a hacker could take control of your favorite toy and ruin what would’ve otherwise been an awesome day! There are however measures you can take that’ll help you to protect your expensive gadgets from being hacked.
How To Secure Your Drone From Hackers?
How To Secure Your Drone From Hackers? There are several steps you need to take to secure your drone from being hacked. Make sure to regularly update the drone’s firmware, set up a strong password for your base station app, use a Virtual Private Network (VPN), avoid the same flying pattern and activate the ‘Return to Home’ feature.
Drones are like computers, and they have network connections, operating systems, and hardware and that’s why it’s easy to hack into them. But just like when it comes to computers, drones can also be secured. Therefore, in this article we will explain to you all the best ways how you can secure your drone from hackers.
5 Ways to Secure Drones From Hackers
- Pick Quality Drones
- Ensure Secure Network Connectivity
- Encrypt Drone Communications
- Avoid the Same Flying Pattern
- Leveraging Blockchain
How to Keep Your Drone Secure From Hackers?
If you are a drone owner, it is important to know what kind of security vulnerabilities can arise with your quadcopter. Faced with these threats, many businesses have found themselves developing countermeasures such as encryption protocols which they hope will thwart their would-be enemies from using hijacked drones.
That’s why it’s good to know that your drone could also be hacked. Hackers have been known for using a type of “spoofing” in order to steer the path and location of drones they want, such as US military ones captured by Iran years ago. Why is that important? It doesn’t just stop at government or military devices; there are many hackers that are targeting private-owned drones too!
Therefore, your drone is at risk too! Though privately-operated drones are lower priority targets than those that fly over major cities or military bases, but there’s still a chance that your drone will also be a target.
Some of the required protections against hackers may involve better built drones; however adding these kinds of things can make them expensive which makes finding protection difficult if not impossible for many people with limited resources. But do not fear because there are several steps anyone can do to protect their drone from being hacked. So, let’s start!
Best Drone Security Tips
- Regularly update the drone’s firmware
- Make sure to have a strong password for your base station app
- Set a limit on your base station that only 1 devices can connect to your drone
- Make sure to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN)
- Activate the “Return to Home” (RTH) mode on your drone
Your Ground Controller Must Be Protected
To keep your drone safe, it’s important to maintain a malware-free environment. A computer or mobile device with any kind of virus could result in catastrophic consequences like losing control of the quadcopter and crashing it, which can lead to serious damage and even death!
It’s no secret that the US military has had its share of embarrassments in recent years, but this might be one of their worst. Not only is it a constant struggle to secure themselves from outside threats like hackers and terrorists infiltrating through various channels – now they’re at risk inside as well!
One recent, alarming security breach occurred when the US Military used one of their computers where they installed games on it and became infected with malware that allowed hackers to take control of the UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). But what is good is that we have control over the malware, so we can take control over.
Use Of VPN & Antivirus For Ground Station Protection
Anti-virus programs are typically part of the default software on PCs, but if you’re using a tablet or phone to fly your drone (or any device that can be infected with viruses), it’s important to have one anti-virus programe installed.
Therefore, make sure your device is protected. While there are many paid anti-virus programs out there that will provide protection, the free options from AVG and Avast can also be very useful in keeping malware away. If you already have an Android phone or iPhone, I recommend looking into these softwares.
There are also other problems that can occur and that need an additional software, and it’s VPN.
Secure your internet connection and keep hackers out by subscribing to a VPN (Virtual Private Network) service. Once you’re connected, the remote server encrypts your data so that no one can see what websites you visit or track what content is being downloaded. I would recommend to check out these VPN services: Best VPN Services in 2021.
If you want to know more about VPN and how it works, please read this VPN guide.
Avoid the Same Flying Pattern
Recent drone hacks have been giving us a lot of new information about how hackers can gain control over drones. For instance, by spoofing false GPS coordinates they are able to crash or re-direct the drone! But before the hacker is even in contact with their target, first they need to establish some sort of connection with it.
The SkyJack project by Samy Kamkar is the perfect way for anyone who wants to try, steal and hack other drones. This innovative tool essentially seeks out and intercepts wireless signals from any device with an internet connection, so that it can take control of those devices as well!
The best way to avoid this is by varying your flight paths. Constantly changing the location of where you’re flying will make it harder for hackers to predict where, and when, you’ll fly your drone. Keeping an eye on your quadcopter means having a better idea if something goes wrong during its flights – as well as what direction that problem might have come from!
Related Article: How To Sell Used Drone? 6 Best Ways
Drones Protected With seL4 OS
It will be very hard to actually get your hands on a drone that has the seL4 operating system! It is still in development, but if what they say comes true then this will be the industry standard for any device connected to the internet, better known as „Internet of Things“.
You might think this seL4 kernel, or operating system will cause the drone to crash. But instead, what it does, isolates various functions on the device and ensures that even if a hacker takes over control of your quadcopter, he won’t be able to take it down! It’s like a hijacker that takes control over the plane, but you lock the cockpit, and you still have the control of the plane and you can land it safely.
This seL4 kernel software will secure your drone and you don’t need to be afraid that anyone will take control of your drone.
Better And More Secure Drones
In addition to the steps already recommended, there are a few other things you can do. Building your own drone is one option as it will allow you to access any bugs or exploits that exist in models like yours and fix them before they become an issue for someone else too.
SkyJack is a new type of hacking that specifically targets drones with their MAC addresses. Parrot 2.0 drones are vulnerable to this type of hack, so try not to fly them if you’re worried about being hacked! It could be the perfect time for hackers because we all know how important it is these days to stay connected.
That’s why I recommend flying your drone in remote areas where there isn’t much technology around just as an extra precautionary measure against getting hacked or worse!
This video gives an idea how hacking drones might become something cybersecurity experts need to worry about over the next few years (especially if they can get their hands on some powerful tools).
How Hackers Steal Data From Drones
Data has become more mobile as Wi-Fi and the Cloud make it possible to access data from anywhere. Plus, the „Internet of Things“ with RFID enables data flows between smaller devices like security cameras. Technologies like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and RFID only work within a limited area but with drones, hackers can get more mobility.
A Raspberry Pi or ASUS Tinker Board could be loaded onto a drone and used to carry out cyberattacks exploiting Wi-Fi, RFID, Bluetooth vulnerabilities. It can mimic wireless networks in to order steal data from tablets and smartphones as well as hijack peripherals like mice and keyboards for keylogging purposes.
If you want to know more about Can Drones Be Hacked, read this article.
Conclusion
The number of drones in the world is set to explode, and hackers are taking notice. They want to take control of your expensive toy and use it for fun. There are however measures you can take that’ll help you to protect your drone from being hacked. In this article you could see all the possible ways to protect yourself from attack. It’s important for everyone with a drone to understand these risks so they can make sure their investment stays protected! Have a safe flight!
