US warns Chinese-made drones sold on UK high streets and aimed at kids may be secretly harvesting users’ data
Drones are feared to contain components that steal information and share it on severs accessible by third parties
CHINESE-MADE drones could be harvesting top secret data from users, the US Department of Homeland Security has warned.
Drones - including those aimed at children and sold on Amazon and UK high streets - are feared to contain components that steal information and share it on severs accessible not just by the manufacturer but by third parties too.
The alert from the department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency was obtained by .
China is the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial and military drones.
74 per cent of drones around the world are made by the company DJI, which is headquartered in Shenzhen, China.
In the UK, DJI drones can be purchased from Amazon UK, Drones Direct, John Lewis and a range of online stores, with prices starting at £99.
Many of them are aimed at children.
The US fears these drones are sending sensitive flight data back to the manufacturers in China, which can then be accessed by the Chinese government.
The data is collected through , which combines information from multiple sensors on the device including, cameras and propeller and motor movements.
China imposes tough obligations on its citizens to support national intelligence activities including espionage and theft of proprietary information, the warning adds.
'UNDERESTIMATING ABILITIES'
Yesterday, Google announced Huawei will no longer be able to use its apps or access its security updates, in a massive blow for the Chinese company.
Last week, the US added the firm to a list companies it will not trade with unless it has a licence.
The warning reportedly continues: "The United States government has strong concerns about any technology product that takes American data into the territory of an authoritarian state that permits its intelligence services to have unfettered access to that data or otherwise abuses that access.
";Those concerns apply with equal force to certain Chinese-made (unmanned aircraft systems)-connected devices capable of collecting and transferring potentially revealing data about their operations and the individuals and entities operating them, as China imposes unusually stringent obligations on its citizens to support national intelligence activities."
The warning further urges individuals or companies to be “be cautious when purchasing” and “to take precautionary steps like turning off the device’s internet connection and removing secure digital cards”.
This isn’t the first time the US government has issued a warning about Chinese drones.
The US Army ordered all Chinese-made drone to be recalled and destroyed in 2017.
It comes as Huawei’s founder has said the US “underestimates” its abilities after Donald Trump escalated its efforts to block the Chinese firm.
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Ren Zhengfei told Chinese state media: “The current practice of US politicians underestimates our strength.”
Theresa May has faced growing pressure to follow in Google’s steps.
The Government is reportedly planning to let Huawei build parts of the hi-tech 5G networks which are set to cover the country, but will exclude the company from the most sensitive areas.
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