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In a recent publication, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has reiterated concerns concerning the risks posed by Chinese-manufactured unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to critical infrastructure and U.S. national security. The guidance, jointly released with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), emphasizes the necessity for caution and potential mitigation when procuring and operating Chinese-manufactured UAS.
The CISA guidance highlights the expanded legal grounds within the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for accessing and controlling data held by firms, raising concerns about data theft and network compromises. The 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy and the Annual Threat Assessment discover the PRC as a big cyber threat to the USA, emphasizing the strategic importance the PRC places on data as a geopolitical resource.
The CISA publication outlines vulnerabilities related to UAS, including potential data transfer and collection issues, concerns about patching and firmware updates controlled by Chinese entities, and the broader surface for data collection that would expose critical infrastructure operations to foreign adversaries.
The implications of the PRC’s access to sensitive information through Chinese-manufactured UAS include the potential exposure of mental property, enhanced details of critical infrastructure operations, compromised cybersecurity and physical security controls, and the exposure of network access details for potential cyber-attacks.
To mitigate these risks, the guidance recommends organizations, each private and non-private sector, to adopt secure-by-design principles. It encourages the federal government to follow Executive Order 13981 and seek the advice of the Department of Defense’s Blue UAS Cleared List to discover compliant UAS. The document further provides recommendations for plan/design, procurement, maintenance, and operational practices to boost cybersecurity posture.
In response to the CISA and FBI memo, the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) issued an announcement emphasizing the challenges posed by China’s dominance in the worldwide drone market. AUVSI’s Chief Advocacy Officer, Michael Robbins, called for a shift away from unsecure PRC drones and foreign supply chains, urging Congress to take motion to finish China’s monopolistic control of the U.S. drone market.
China’s dominance of the worldwide drone market poses a large number of challenges for the USA, and the CISA and FBI warning affirms the threat PRC drones present to our national security. As CISA and the FBI noted of their memo today, within the interest of national security, organizations collecting sensitive information, including critical infrastructure owners and operators, must shift away from unsecure PRC drones and reliance on foreign supply chains.
AUVSI’s Partnership for Drone Competitiveness challenges Congress to take resolute motion to finish China’s monopolistic control of the U.S. drone market and to support a powerful domestic drone industry. Our coalition stays committed to working with policymakers in any respect levels of presidency to implement common sense policy solutions that safeguard U.S. data and foster a strong domestic drone industry.
The AUVSI statement underscores the commitment to working with policymakers to implement policy solutions that safeguard U.S. data and support the event of a strong domestic drone industry. The memo from CISA and the FBI, coupled with AUVSI’s response, highlights the continued concerns surrounding Chinese-manufactured UAS and the efforts to handle the associated risks to national security and important infrastructure.
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