Dull, Dirty, Dangerous!

It's a bird, It's a plane...

Toys

Cost: 1.5K - 5K INR

Flight time: ~5min

Payload: None

Usage: Recreational

Tools

Cost: In Lakhs

Flight time: ~20-30min

Payload: A lot of tools (~5Kg)

Usage:

Photography

Surveying

Mapping

Search and Rescue

Logistics

Data gathering

Serious Business

Cost: In Crores

Flight time: 8+ hrs

Payload: Tonnes

Usage:

Surveillance

Weapon Delivery

Security Challenges

Regulations

• India: Ministry of Civil Aviation
• A long route for foreigners.
• Registration: UIN (Unique Identification Number)
• Not Beyond Visual Range
• No Fly Zones
• No Permission, No TakeOff
• All these for >250gm, >50feet
• ...
• Are these enforced though? How?

Weather

• Vulnerable to Turbulence, Rain, Snow, Fog etc.
• Uncertainty at local levels in weather.
• Flight aviation reports are tuned to planes.

Energy Limitation

• Lightweight LiPo batteries
• Can add more power, but that will add more weight
• Which will need more power and so on...
• + the cost

Communication

• Mostly Unsecure
• Drone-to-Drone: No standardization
• Drone-to-Ground: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11, Most communication is Public
• Drone-to-Satellite: GPS
  • Prone to Jamming and Spoofing
  • e.g Against ISIL in Mosul

Flight Planning

• Basic algorithms for routing
• Mostly controlled in Visual range
• Collision avoidance algo in 3D

Challenges from Malicious Users

• Physical Threats
  • Assassination attempts (Venezuela, 2018)
  • Targetted attacks on Infrastructure
  • Smuggling
  • Civil Aviation issues
  • Swarms
  • ...

Challenges from Malicious Users

• Logical Threats
  • WiFI Luring Malware
  • Hacking Other Drones
  • Logging into insecure device applications (DEFCON'18)
  • ...

Title Text

• Bullet One
• Bullet Two
• Bullet Three

How though?

Gaps

• Unauth access
• Social Engineering

Safeguards

• End-to-end Encryption
• Device auth
• Physical Security
• Better Regulations

Authorisation

Gaps

• Malware
• Port Scans

Safeguards

• Stronger Password Policy
• Malware Detection Techniques

Drone

Gaps

• Eavesdropping
• Man-In-the-Middle
• Jamming
• ARP Poisoning
• MAC Spoofing

Safeguards

• Encryption
• Hashing
• Firewalls
• Access Control Updates

Communication

Detection Techniques

• Audio-based
• Visuals
• Motion Detection
• Thermal
• RF-based detection

Post Detection?

The way Ahead

• Improving Regulations
• Secure and Trusted Drone Hardware
• Trusted Communication Channels
• Improvements in Detection
• Improvements in Evasion
• Drone-to-Drone Communications
• Swarm Organization Algorithms

Thank  You