Drone-bomb bid sparks copycat fear
Security pro: ‘Nothing is bulletproof’ to stop it
The drone-bomb assassination attempt on Venezuela’s president has raised fears of copycat efforts by terrorists elsewhere.
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro survived an apparent hit Saturday when two drones armed with explosives detonated as he was delivering a speech to hundreds of soldiers in Caracas, officials said. Six suspects have been arrested in relation to the failed attack, according to authorities.
“I’m surprised that this hasn’t been done more,” said Sarah Kreps, associate professor of government at Cornell University. “I’ve always thought that it was only a matter of time before something like this was attempted.”
Kreps, author of “Drone Warfare” and “Drones: What Everyone Needs to Know,” said she has been focused on the drone terror threat since 2013, when a drone flew within feet of a podium where German Chancellor Angela Merkel was delivering a speech.
That incident also caught the attention of Dan Linskey, managing director of Kroll, a security risk mitigation firm,
“I looked at that and said, ‘Oh my God,’ ” said Linskey, the former Boston police superintendent-inchief.
Before that, Linskey said, the thought had “never crossed my mind.” Today, drones are banned at the Boston Marathon and other major events in the city, where drone-detecting technology is used, as well as near the White House, which is able to deploy software that bars the approach of commercial drones.
But Linskey, like Kreps, said the Venezuela incident raises new red flags.
“This is an attack on the leader of a country. It was unsuccessful only because it didn’t operate effectively,” Linskey said. “But the implications are huge.”
Former Boston police Commissioner Edward F. Davis, now a security consultant, said, “People in the security field have been worrying about this for some time. These drones are fairly inexpensive, they carry a payload that could be a problem as far as explosives are concerned and I know that many of my colleagues have expressed frustration about not being able to defend against them in any effective way.”
Davis cited easy access to the devices, lack of enforcement and the “fact that they’ve actually been utilized by people that have threatened to harm citizens. Those three things together are really problematic.”
Although the drone tactic might not be ideal for terrorists who want “lethality” in large numbers, according to Kreps, “drones can deliver” a psychological impact.
There are defense mechanisms, experts say, including blunt force, the use of laser beams and hijacking signals to redirect the flight.
“Hopefully something will come through quickly,” Davis said, “but right now there’s nothing I know of that is bulletproof on stopping this.”