Corporate espionage being enabled by drones?

September 27, 2015

Drones being used for corporate espionage

Kassel, Germany, September 28, 2015 - Imagine the following scenario: a drone flies onto a company's property and lands unnoticed in a concealed spot. It is fitted with an unsecured wi-fi hotspot that can accidentally be used by employees, allowing for the unwitting disclosure of sensitive data for days on end. Or imagine an automobile company testing a new release of a car, or the set of a movie hiding valuable plot lines when a drone enters its space and captures spoilers, then releasing them to the public.These scenarios are all too real. A few weeks ago, drones captured key scenes during the filming of Season 6 of Game of Thrones, leading the company to issue a strict ban on spy craft flying above the principal filming location in Northern Ireland. And earlier this month, a drone captured images of Apple's new, not-yet-built campus in Cupertino.

But companies are fighting back, within the constraints of the law. For example, auto manufacturers are putting in place drone detection technologies, which allow them to detect the presence of a drone near-by their test tracks (a major concern when they are testing prototype cars). Once detected, the manufacturers adopt evasive maneuvers, such as setting off smoke and pulling cars into covered tents, in order to avoid drones capturing photo and videos of the new cars.

Drone Detection Technology helps companies to fight back

According to Jörg Lamprecht, Managing Director of Dedrone, "The issue of spying and utilizing drones to secretly capture valuable content from entertainment companies, automobile testing facilities or even corporations is becoming a considerable problem. Moreover, there are methods by which drones can return autonomously to where they came from, leaving no trace of their presence. Organizations with any kind of intellectual property to protect should consider adopting drone detection technologies, to help them:  1.Know about the presence of a near-by drone immediately2.Determine the problem, based on the type of drone and the technology behind it3.Make informed decisions to protect their intellectual property4.Obtain the video evidence to search for the pilot"About DedroneDedrone provides a professional civilian drone early-warning and detection system. Founded in 2014, the company has raised $2.9 million in VC funding, including venture capital investor Target Partners and successful security entrepreneur Tom Noonan (Internet Security Systems, JouleX). The company leverages acoustic and video detection technology to detect the drone threats faced by governments and industry. Once detected, Dedrone technology allows prisons and other facilities to react quickly, gathering contraband, locking down jail cells, and looking for pilots close by. The system not only provides real time video of the incident, but records the threat for video evidence.

Press Contact

Friederike Nielsen

Director Marketing & Communications

Miramstr. 87, 34123 Kassel, Germany

Phone: +49 561 861799-120

Email: friederike.nielsen@dedrone.com

Get the Friends of Dedrone News

Get in touch

  • Washington DC Area
    +1 703 260 8051
  • United Kingdom
    +44 3303 410920
  • Germany
    +49 561 8617990