California-based drone security company WhiteFox reports its drone and operator identification system was demonstrated by drone manufacturer during the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Drone Enable 3 Symposium (https://www.unmannedairspace.info/news-first/droneenable3-takes-another-step-towards-making-utm-a-global-industry/). The demonstration took place as part of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the Transglobal Secure Collaboration Program (TSCP). According to WhitFox: “During the demonstration, DJI drones broadcasted their identity using the new, proposed ASTM standard for drone remote identification, and were cryptographically verified by WhiteFox cloud services, providing an unforgeable link between the drone and operator’s identity. The standard supports a variety of receivers, including smartphones, laptops, and dedicated hardware, all using widely deployed technologies, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.”
WhiteFox Head of Autonomous Vehicle Security Dr. Zachary Peterson said, “It is important we do Remote ID security right, and it is also important that it be optional. It’s possible not all airspaces will require security, but within spaces that do, we must be assured of the true identity of both a drone and its operator. Without security, my drone can be your drone, a police drone—it can be anything I want.”
“One of the things we know we need to have…is we know we need for drones to be able to identify themselves initially, so that law enforcement or a security service can understand who’s flying the drone, and what its purpose is,” stated Stephen Creamer, ICAO’s Director of Air Navigation Bureau, during the Industry Successes panel at the United Nations ICAO Drone Enable 3 Symposium and quoted in the Whitefox press release. Creamer continued, “We want to show Secure Remote ID to demonstrate the flexibility and the power of the ASTM standard when it’s coupled with some core concepts associated with registration and the evolving trust framework…essentially [allowing] us to digitize certification and identification globally for all aviation where it matters for safety.”
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