Drone Wars!
 

Re: Drone Wars!
 

To an older person with limited technical savvy, this young fella may be a technical wiz, maybe a good scammer, maybe a whistleblower and his heart may even be in the right place depending upon which of the preceding is his true vocation. Maybe he is some sort of activist trying to send out a warning message as to hypothetical vulnerabilities of the bigger drones purposed to hurt people.

Whichever, I don't think he has a lot going for him in legal skills or self-preservation instincts.

Except for appending his signature on an affidavit, this is about as cut and dried a case for a plaintiff as you could get in a civil damages suit, all achieved by one's own foot-shot.

Re: Drone Wars!
 

This shows how out of control this can become in future.

Re: Drone Wars!
 

Not really. Command and control can be achieved via encrypted comms, just as you don't broadcast your business comms in the clear and use vpn. May still be susceptible to jamming, but in that case the onboard instruction set might be invoked for a return to base.

Re: Drone Wars!
 

Keep in mind that Iran supposedly spoofed a MILITARY drone into landing somewhere other than where it was supposed to... One would think they had "secure" communication systems...

I suspect there's a LONG way to go before you have an unmanned system that is "foolproof", let alone hacker proof... ANY time you have a signal/communication, there is potential to intercept it, hack it, and alter it for purposes other than were originally intended... "potential" being the key word.

Doesn't mean it WILL happen, but I'd be far more worried about hundreds of drones flying about that could be intercepted than I am about one or two stupid pilots who can't control or lose control of their flying salad shooter o' death...

In the real world, botnets, zombie computers that have been hacked, etc. etc. exist, and are a real problem. Give a dedicated crazy person access to their own personal "air force" (albeit diminutive), it might present a problem... or maybe not...

Re: Drone Wars!
 

Nope, ssl etc. are used daily. No magic involved, just a willingness to implement a secure solution. There will probably be plenty of non-secure vehicles to hack, no doubt.