The management of the Choose Committee on the Chinese language Communist Occasion has urged the Virginia authorities to cease utilizing Chinese language drones that pose intelligence threats.
The SCCCP requested Congresspeople John Moolenaar and Raja Krishnamoorthi to cease utilizing Chinese language drones because the CIA, the Director of Nationwide Intelligence, and quite a few authorities personnel keep in Fairfax County.
In a submit on X, the SCCCP acknowledged, “Rep. John Moolenaar, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, and Fairfax County should stop utilizing Chinese language military-linked DJI International drones that pose an espionage danger. Fairfax County is house to the CIA, the Director of Nationwide Intelligence, and quite a few authorities personnel.”
The committee chairman’s letter referred to as on Fairfax County to rethink its procurement and deployment of unmanned aerial techniques (UAS) manufactured in or owned by the Individuals’s Republic of China (PRC). This warning arises from the presence of delicate nationwide safety websites and pursuits within the space, in addition to the threats posed by PRC-made drones.
The letter highlighted that the Choose Committee has recognized PRC-made drones as a menace to the nationwide and financial safety of the USA. Entities of concern embrace, however will not be restricted to, Shenzhen DJI Sciences and Applied sciences Ltd. (DJI/R) and Autel Robotics.
Over time, the Govt Department and Congress have taken quite a few steps to deal with nationwide safety issues associated to the procurement and deployment of PRC drones and to guard delicate information. This consists of the January 2024 Joint CISA and FBI report on PRC-made drone expertise.
The committee urged native governments like Fairfax County to grab the chance to safeguard residents from these threats. The letter additionally referenced a 2017 Division of Homeland Safety intelligence bulletin highlighting issues that DJI was seemingly transmitting delicate US information to the Chinese language authorities, elevating important nationwide safety issues.
In December 2020, the Division of Commerce positioned DJI on its “Entity Listing,” citing its involvement in aiding China’s human rights abuses in opposition to the Uyghur folks within the Xinjiang area by way of biometric surveillance and monitoring.
Moreover, in July 2021, the Division of Defence emphasised the significance of addressing the threats posed by DJI drones, making it a precedence for the Division and underscoring ongoing safety dangers to US pursuits. In December 2021, the Division of the Treasury recognized DJI as a part of the PRC Army-Industrial Complicated and added it to its sanctions listing, reinforcing the notion of a nationwide safety menace posed by PRC-manufactured drones in the USA.
As of Might 2023, seven states have grounded their fleets of PRC-related UAS and banned future procurement on account of legit issues about proprietary information being despatched again to the PRC. Such information may probably be accessed by the Chinese language Communist Occasion (CCP) below the PRC’s Nationwide Safety Regulation, which mandates entry to units and applications by way of backdoors, also referred to as “embedded and reserved interfaces.”
Fairfax County at the moment operates a blended fleet of UAS. Public security applications, emergency providers, and the fireplace division make the most of these platforms to hold out their missions. Nonetheless, the usage of China-made UAS platforms and sensors raises issues as they accumulate high-resolution imagery of amenities and people, placing delicate data susceptible to being accessed by the CCP.
