The Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the world’s leading trade association for drones and other autonomous vehicles, announced a collaboration with the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to further commercial cyber methodologies to design a shared standard. AUVSI’s effort is meant to expand the number of vetted drones that meet
Department of Defense Invests in Artificial Intelligence
According to a list published recently by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which audits federal agencies and programs, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is currently involved with more than 685 artificial intelligence (AI) projects. Some of these projects include major weapon systems such as the MQ-9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and the Joint Light Tactical …
DOD’s Defense Innovation Unit Seeks Algorithms for Drone Automation through a Connected Platform
The Defense Innovation Unit, the Silicon Valley outpost of the Department of Defense (DOD), is seeking commercial algorithms to help build an automated network of military drones to accomplish complex tasks using artificial intelligence (AI). The Unit is requesting algorithms specific to networking and decision-making (rather than computer vision or autopilot systems) to help the…
Amazon Offers a “Quickstart Package” for Compliance with DOD’s CMMC
Amazon has announced that it has developed and is offering a “CMMC Quickstart Package” to help contractors comply with the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) required for contractors to enter into contracts with DOD.
According to an Amazon spokesman, Amazon Web Services (AWS) will be releasing a responsibility guide that “lists…
Have Questions About CMMC? Don’t We All
I had the pleasure of participating as a panelist this week for companies primarily involved in the maritime industry, and one of the topics discussed was the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Program (CMMC). The discussion generated questions that I thought merited sharing.
Simply put, the DOD’s CMMC Program was designed to…
New FAA Operating Restrictions for Drones
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), at the request of the Department of Defense (DOD) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG), issued new drone operating restrictions to address concerns about potentially malicious drone operations over certain high-priority maritime operations.
Drones are restricted from flying near U.S. Navy (USN) and USCG vessels operating in the vicinity…
National Security, Technical and Legal Challenges for Counter-UAS Technology
National security concerns related to drones range from illicit intelligence gathering to smuggling drugs and guns over the border or into prisons, to attacks like those conducted by terrorist groups. However, currently, unmanned aerial systems (UAS) counter technology (or counter-UAS) legal authority is limited.
Only the Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Energy (DOE)…
Remote Identification of Drones: For Commercial Operators Only or Hobbyists Too?
Last month, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) received recommendations regarding remote identification of drones in a report from the unmanned aircraft Identification and Tracking (UAS ID) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC). One of the topics at issue: whether we need remote identification (ID) of all drones in the national airspace. Beyond the FAA, the Department of…
Pentagon Web Monitoring Data Exposed
Security researcher Chris Vickery has confirmed that web-monitoring data from the Department of Defense (DOD) was exposed through Amazon Web Services by the way the DOD configured access by authorized users. According to Vickery, anyone with a free AWS account had access to the DOD information, which included 1.8 billion internet posts that had been…
The FAA’s New Study on UAS Human Collision Hazards
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), along with a group of universities, conducted a study to determine the risks associated with flying unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) over people. The group of universities included the University of Alabama-Huntsville; Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; Mississippi State University; and the University of Kansas, through the Alliance for System Safety of UAS…