Forget UFOs – rather watch out for the UAVs

Drones can be hacked and their controls taken over and redirected, writes from Benoni

Farouk Araie

According to the European Union, 400 000 unmanned commercial air vehicles (UAVs) will be airborne by 2025.

Drone technology has proliferated at an alarming pace. It is indeed a pandora’s box whose ultra-sophisticated capability, could be a juicy target for criminals, hackers and terrorists.

These cutting-edge vehicles are guided by GPS systems that can be captured by software specialists.

Readily available drone technology could pose a global nightmarish security threat when it falls into the wrong hands.

Drones can be hacked and their controls taken over and redirected. Drone cargo carriers can be electronically hijacked and used in chemical attacks in crowded urban areas.

Drones are susceptibile to GPS jamming and a skilled hacker can mess with its navigation system.

UAVs are, in reality, flying computers and have the potential to exhibit security flaws that are disturbing.

GPS jammers are freely available online for as little as R1 000 without any restrictions. Drones are ideally suited for modern asymmetric warfare. Like 911, the world is in for a nasty surprise.