The American "Axios" website said that federal law enforcement agencies in the United States have purchased surveillance drones from a Chinese company that the Pentagon considers a potential threat to American national security.
The website indicated that the US Secret Service of the Department of Homeland Security purchased 8 surveillance drones in July 2021 from the Chinese company DJI, which dominates the market for drones in the United States and abroad, just 3 days after The US Department of Defense issued a statement saying that DJI products "pose potential national security threats."
The FBI also purchased 19 drones from the same company a few days before the Pentagon statement, which classified them as a potential threat to US national security.
The site indicated that efforts to purge the US military and law enforcement agencies of potentially hacked Chinese technology have stalled due to bureaucratic red tape in official circles.
He said that US security experts fear that the federal government is unnecessarily exposing itself to "malicious" foreign spying.
The Chinese company, DJI, manufactures many diverse consumer products that are very popular, including the “Phantom” and “Mavic” series of drones, which are used for many purposes, including photography and surveillance, in addition to image stabilization devices, according to the company. the site.
But the use of its products, whether for personal or commercial purposes, requires the user to download software owned by the company.
And during its flight, map databases are used that can be monitored remotely, according to the Axios website.
Despite the long-standing security concerns associated with its products, DJI insists those concerns are unfounded and based on a misunderstanding or misrepresentation of its technology.
According to the site, the US Department of Homeland Security said in 2017 that the company "provides the Chinese government with sensitive data related to US infrastructure and law enforcement authorities."
And in 2019, the US Department of the Interior - which also uses Chinese company DJI products - suspended its entire fleet of non-emergency drones due to fears of being hacked by the Chinese government.