How important is drone defense? In today's ever-accelerating technological world, it's no surprise that drones and drone defense have been evolving to every imaginable end. Recent FAA reports state that there are over 770,000 registered drones in the United States.
This number is expected to be “more than triple from 1.1 million UAVs [currently, including unregistered and commercial drones] to 3.55 million, and the number of commercial vehicles to grow tenfold to 442,000 by 2021. Pilot licenses, meanwhile, will jump from 37,000 to 281,300 in five years.” -Engadget.com
While the vast majority of drones exist in an ethical and legal fashion, the door is wide open for opportunistic exploitation. It can be hacking attempts on your personal Wi-Fi or the creep down the road.
Drones pose a considerable threat to our personal safety and security. In this article, we will be discussing personal and home drone defense and why it's so important.
Drone Defense: Protecting Yourself From Possible Threats
Why Drones Were Developed
First, we will review the two main purposes for developing drones. They are used for data collection and interaction with the environment. Drones also have an incredibly wide range of capabilities. Both capabilities have their own unique challenges that we will explore.
Secondly, we will explore what's headway in the drone defense systems in the market. The more popular solutions like AR-15 attachments have been limited to government use only. Although, there are some simple steps you can take against drone surveillance.
Drones for Data Collection
This drone has a hacking computer used by researchers to breach Wi-Fi networks.
Drones for Physical Tasks
Again, the capability and versatility that drones bring seem to be growing every day. Automation continues to take over the manufacturing industry.
This prompts manufacturers and operators to push the limits of how a drone can affect the environment. From package deliveries to dropping grenades, drone delivery systems are vulnerable to exploitation.
Aside from dropping payloads, some additional tinkering makes drones perform simple robotic tasks. This varies from collecting organic samples for agriculture to rigging an actuator to squeeze a trigger.
The teenage owner of this drone definitely deserves questioning. Again, this demonstrates how simple it can be for a someone to modify drones.
How To Prepare For These New Threats
Knowledge is the best way to prepare. The number of registered drones and drone operators is increasing. The sheer volume of these airborne assistants will prove the need for addressing property owner's concerns.
It is then important to think critically about the possibility of you being a target. If anything, the biggest risk homeowners face is hacking of their Wi-Fi networks. This can compromise all devices connected to that network.
For that reason, we will focus on what you can do to mitigate and prepare for that threat. The best part is, these are all tips you can install today, on your own network.
Here are a few network security tips from PC Magazine that you can implement today. This can better protect your Wi-Fi network and connected devices.
- Activate network encryption
- Update your router’s admin username and password
- Change your network name
- Turn off guest networks
- Turn down broadcast power if you find that your Wi-Fi signal is reaching out to areas you don’t use.
Active drone defense systems are still in development. The market needs a system that produces innovative solutions. Dedrone has devised a jamming system that creates enough disruption to cause a drone to lose communication with the pilot.
At that point, autopilot takes over and the drone either lands on the spot or returns to the point it took off from. This system is still new and best for large commercial or infrastructural facilities. It is also likely to scale down for the public soon.
Finally, remember the Kentucky solution? That got me thinking, is that a contingency worth preparing for? Since there still has not been a clear definition of air rights, the best we can do is prepare for the threat now and wait for legislation to catch up.
While shooting clay pigeons has been the best aerial replication of flight for target shooting thus far, Gnat Warfare has been developing drone targets that better replicate today’s drone flight patterns and behavior.
Again, while it is very unlikely that you personally will be targeted by a handgun-toting drone, gun owners already know the value of preparing for the worst.
Gnat Warfare operates and sells ground-based and flying drone targets. This is a great way to get some hands-on, real-world experience in shooting down drones with human operators.
Here is some footage provided by one of the founders, George Ford. In it, Gnat Warfare demonstrates some of their aerial drone drills along with the ground-based scenarios.
While they focus on meeting current demand, Ford has been researching and developing aerial threat training programs. Even now, you can hire Gnat Warfare to run a drone shoot just for the fun of it!
Watch this video by George Ford about a Gnat Warfare shot show:
Simply learning about drone developments is the best way to prepare for these devices becoming more integrated into our lives. Lack of knowledge or half-truths spread by alarmists can end up hindering or even halting the progress we’ve made.
That is exactly why this information is in the format you saw today. The best advice I can give is to follow those network security tips and stay abreast of the industry developments. Stay safe, and share your drone experience with us in the comments!
What do you think about the capability of drones today? Please let us know in the comments section below!
Up Next: Sound as a Defense Weapon: How Sound Frequency Can Cause Pain
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in August 2017, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
My 12 guage works quite well. I like flying targets.
I agree, Mossberg 500A 12 gauge will work just fine
You people really need tin foil hats. Nobody is spying on anyone with a drone. 2nd, your shotgun isn’t going to shoot a drone down. I know I know it’s a fantasy of yours that we’re just going to hover there daring you to pick up off, but the truth is I’m at 200′ going 30 MPH, you have ZERO chance of hitting my drone. 3rd, others on her suggested jammers, and sorry to tell you, they won’t work either but I’m not going to get technical here because if your idea of high tech is a shotgun, you wouldn’t understand it anyway. The best thing you can do is go deep into your bunker and stay there.
You are a sleeze
A 12 gauge goose gun works just fine.
The 12 ga isn’t for the Drone!!!
Let me see… “Nobody would conceivably go into a school with guns” or, “Nobody would dare go into a church and shoot a bunch of people” or, like “Nobody would ever use an airplane as a suicide attack (sorry kamikaze pilots, your example didn’t count)… Hmm. Anyone else see a pattern here?
Electronic scrambler works good, they drop signal and fall.
Jamming the signal, or overriding the instructions, will bring it down and is untraceable. I built one when the local gendarmerie started using them for warrantless surveillance.
you’re full of crap and here’s how I know. If you actually had the technical knowledge to build such a device, you qould be flying drones and not fantasizing about jamming them. Jammers don’t work further than 30 feet, and believe me, you’re not getting that close to my drone.
What about sound wave Cannon’s
Thats what i want learn about
Had a drone fly over my house, my wifi caught it, this was at 12.30 am
Why was it that close to my house at that time of nite n how can i stop this
My Paint Gun works just great. And takes it right on down. Plus 5-0 cant say I was shooting my gun off.
If you shoot it down with a 9 MM 12 G. Ect. you may just go to jail.
Just a fact.
So is survival life now going to see jamming devices?
just wait till city law enforcement find it cheaper to run drones on automated tracks through our neighborhoods with infrared, night vision and ultra sensitive audio to see and hear whats going on in your home. lest we forget, drones can be armed and thanx to Obama, can now killl Americans on our home soil. sleep tight
Well it’s time to bring back lead paint on our walls. That stops some of it! Hopefully all this crap ends soon!
How far can the best quality drone fly out & return to it’s launch site? And how much would or does a drone like that cost.
Number 6 or 7 shot works pretty well…depending on the range.
Although I disagree with the reckless use of a fire arm. I wonder what the people that have had their lives changed through the use of Predator Drones would have to say.
Quit fantasizing: a firearm is not going to take down a Predator. None have the range, unless you have a Paladin or Howitzer in your backyard, and that’s only a slim chance if the Predator happens to be at low altitude for takeoff/landing..
Jammers are of little use. They’d disrupt the video transmission before the flight controls are affected, and the operator backs off. As another person pointed out, they also have very limited range. Something else to keep in mind is that disruption of another person’s legal use of the airwaves is illegal. So, unless you can prove that the drone flight is illegal (good luck with that), using a jammer against it is a FELONY. Most of the good UAVs these days use at least 2 bands, too. Jam one, the operator isn’t likely to even notice, as the unit switches to the non-jammed band. A jammer that actually affects it will also affect a lot of other stuff, and the charges just pile up…
Fantasizing about hacking to the controls and taking it away from the pilot? That’s possible with some of the cheaper units. Mine has to be on the ground, rotors off, and a certain button pressed before it will accept a new control box. For those that it’s possible, your’e stealing an aircraft. Guess what? That’s a FELONY.
Use of firearms or other projectiles against a personal level unit like a Phantom? Keep some things in mind. First, it’s a small, highly maneuverable, uncooperative target. Good luck hitting it. Firing into the air is a crime in most locations. Second, you’re being recorded, both on the UAV and at the control unit (ground station). Proof is a given. Third, most units will be operated by FAA-registered (even licensed) pilots. Interfering with another person’s lawful flight (and the vast majority will be) as with a jammer or similar, or shooting at an aircraft IS A FELONY. Period! You don’t even have to hit it to be breaking Federal law. Shoot at my UAV, I WILL see your ass in prison, and if you manage to hit it, you WILL buy me a new one on your way to a cell.
Creep down the street won’t leave your tanning daughter alone? Take video of the unit and file a complaint. If that doesn’t work, use a fishing pole to catch it (close enough to spy on you is close enough to do this – if it’s too far to do this, it’s too far to get good video of your daughter) and then call the police. Be careful to NOT damage it – if it’s registered with the FAA, damaging it will put YOU in jail, not him.
Most folks dont care about your drone or any law concerning them, best not to fly too close to peoples property and kin and you wont have a problem.
From the attitudes expressed from the drone avocates here, it seems clear to me that these individuals have already assessed their position with regard to our current laws. Some may already be in the group giving responsible drone operators a bad rap. Being one who has been a victim of drone harassment by a disrespectful operator in my neighborhood, I can say that my local police will not enforce even the current laws much like the sanctuary city scenario. They claim a non responsibility to enforce federal law. I’m not advocating gun violence, but I’m confident that if it comes to the time when that is the best way to end this abuse of the drone users right to fly, that drone will cease to exist. My million dollar retainer CCL lawyer is there for whatever contingency is needed. Advocating for new laws, and responsible usage by the operators, will avert the inevitable consequences. No one wants to deprive the responsible people from their hobby, but those who abuse their rights will force the outcome.
What about sound wave Cannon’s
How do I end drone abuse stalking by Craig Van Sickle; a Boeing engineer/employee? He has a drone on us that emits a beam of radiation and it is hurting our health.
If you seriously think a 12ga won’t take down a drone at 20ft going 35 mph you are sadly mistaken. If you would like a demonstration stop by.
Even 200 feet won’t matter.
The article is alarmist. The vast majority of drone pilots don’t spy on their neighbors, arm their drones, nor hack into wifi which isn’t practical anyway since the drone would have to hover in the vicinity of the wifi cloud for as long as the signal is used. The battery life would limit that to maybe 30 mins. max and the noise from the drone would attract attention. It’s these types of articles that cause more fear in people of our hobby and encourage shooting them down (which is illegal in many jurisdictions).