Happy Nice Mall

The Biden administration ignored a clear warning from the Pentagon about “cybersecurity concerns” linked to Chinese-made drones and drone parts, and continued to purchase such materials from a top Chinese company that the Trump administration has blacklisted for national security reasons.

Review of internal government procurement documents by the Washington Times, secret service It has purchased eight commercial surveillance drones manufactured by Chinese drone construction giant Da Jiang Innovations (DJI), after the Pentagon issued its warning in July.

NS secret service It declined to comment on the acquisitions, but the contract triggered increased scrutiny from Republican lawmakers over how much restrictions the agency is facing on purchases. US government use of equipment from certain Chinese companies – even if this equipment can be purchased by US citizens through e-commerce companies such as Amazon.

It also aroused concern among government observers. Buying blacklisted technology Chinese He said it was a “potential weak spot” for any agency of the federal government. Donald Maye, head of operations at video surveillance research company IPVM, received government acquisition documents. secret service paid $12,792 for DJI Unmanned aerial vehicles on July 26.

The move, which the Department of Homeland Security approved, comes three days after the Pentagon issued a statement specifically stating that DJI drones pose a “potential threat to national security” and that the U.S. military has since banned the purchase and use of such materials. 2018.

“The fact that the DoD was coming back in July to reaffirm that they pose a national security threat was, in my opinion, pretty self-explanatory, so I found the United States to be pretty alarming. secret service He had purchased several drones from DJI,” he said. Maya He said in an interview on Tuesday.

When contacted by The Times on Tuesday, secret service He declined to comment on how he used it. DJI drones or why the Ministry of Defense did not heed the warning about the Chinese company. Justine M. Whelan, spokesperson for the agency, said in an emailed statement, “The United States is committed to ensuring operational security. secret service does not discuss operational tools and methods.”

NS secret service China was not alone in its quest to acquire surveillance drones that had been blacklisted over the past year. Federal procurement documents show the FBI searching for DJI drones. secret service made his purchases.

The bureau first issued a justification document in April stating that the evidence response team is looking to acquire 19 DJI aircraft “to train new Remote Pilots.” FBI officials then sent a request for quotation or RFQ to DJI brand retailers to purchase the equipment.

The bureau later made a purchase of $59,671. Adorama Inc., which sells DJI products online, according to a purchase order posted on the federal government website. The order, which came about a week before the Pentagon’s warning about DJI, doesn’t specifically specify what the FBI is buying.

An FBI official told The Times on Tuesday on condition of anonymity that the bureau “cannot comment on specific operational equipment supplied by the FBI, but can reassure the public that the FBI is taking all necessary measures to ensure safety and security as a general matter.” security of their operations.”

Speculation about why agencies buy DJI products Biden Despite the Trump administration’s bans and restrictions, this era is turning since Axios first reported the acquisitions in September. DJI’s Shenzhen, Chinesebased parent dominates the world market for commercial drones with an estimated 70% of the market.

engaged in a fierce trade war with ChineseThe Trump administration has taken over individual Chinese companies that the Biden administration has not always kept up with. The Justice Department recently concluded a lawsuit against a senior executive of tech giant Huawei, who was detained in Canada for years to fight the US extradition order. Mr Trump’s proposal to force the popular Chinese app TikTok to shut down or sell its US operations has languished under Mr Trump’s administration. Biden.

Congressional concerns

These revelations prompted Republican Republican Jim Banks of Indiana to write questions about the incident to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. secret service and the actions of the FBI, as reported by The Washington Free Beacon. Beacon noted that Mr. Banks was pushing for a ban. US government More than one year use of DJI drones.

After a member of Congress wrote a letter to then Attorney General William Barr in July 2020, the Department of Justice published a Policy on Funding Unmanned Aircraft Systems. The October 2020 policy effectively prohibits the ministry from purchasing drones from foreign entities considered to pose a threat to the United States.

Other prominent Republicans, Dr. Biden weak Chinese. Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio told Axios last month that “there is absolutely no excuse for any government agency to use DJI drones.”

John Ratcliffe, former Director of National Intelligence who served in the Trump administration. Biden attitude of the administration Chinese He pointed to the purchase of drones on Fox News.

Biden administration, via FBI secret servicewas purchased from DJI, a company that the Trump administration flagged in 2017,” said Mr. Ratcliffe. “There was a moderate confidence in our government, so our administration took it all out and basically developed a policy where we wouldn’t use that Chinese technology.”

Indeed, in 2017, the Department of Homeland Security rated DJI providing US critical infrastructure and law enforcement data to the Chinese government with “moderate confidence”. Meanwhile, in December 2020, the Trump administration added DJI to the Commerce Department’s “Entity List”, which often discourages Americans from investing in foreign businesses deemed to pose a national security threat and imposes restrictions on certain foreign individuals and companies.

Mr later Biden After taking office this year, White House officials said the administration expanded rather than narrowed the scope of Trump-era restrictions. But in June, the Federal Register stated that the administration had made “changes.”[ied]” DJI restrictions, but the specific nature of the modification has not been clarified.

The federal government followed DJI products despite growing general concern about hacks and ransomware attacks targeting America’s critical infrastructure.

The Department of Defense warned in July that its position at DJI has not changed. “The position of the Department of Defense (DOD) is that systems manufactured by Da Jiang Innovations (DJI) pose a potential threat to national security,” the department said in a statement on July 23. “Current DOD policy and practices regarding the use of these systems, US government Unlike any written report not approved for release by the Department of Defense, organizations and forces with U.S. military services remain unchanged.”

After the Department of Defense issued its warning, federal procurement documents show: secret service purchased DJI Mavic 2 Pro and DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone. Drones are not exotic: Neither Mavic and Phantom systems can be purchased at: amazon.com around $1,000 and $2,500 respectively and is small enough to carry in a suitcase.

The federal government’s “online shopping superstore”, GSA Advantage, includes a listing for a DJI drone from a contractor, even though it lists its country of origin as Mexico. Chinese.

Some sources claim that US agencies may be buying. DJI drones to analyze them and learn their abilities. It’s not uncommon for law enforcement and security agencies to supply technology that supports simulating threats for testing and training purposes, a law enforcement official told The Times on condition of anonymity.

Mr. Maya On Tuesday, he expressed skepticism that the federal government will publicly reveal the technology procurement it intends to test for countermeasures, given the information that America’s enemies can learn from public procurement documents.

“If you look at the actual claim document, you can see that they have listed the justification, and I think it’s pretty clear that, in my view, it’s not for investigative purposes or countermeasures.” he said.

If the FBI and secret service bought blacklisted Chinese drones to develop countermeasures, Mr. Maya He said they have made America’s adversaries fully aware of what technology is now part of their arsenal.

“Assuming you understand cybersecurity and are a nefarious actor with the ability to exploit these products, you can be sure that person wants to take advantage of and take advantage of cybersecurity. secret service‘Business talent, they will try to do it’ he said.

Links Chinese

DJI Spokesman Adam Lisberg said DJI drones and products are built to protect customer data, and users do not have to share data with third parties such as foreign governments.

“Our cybersecurity protocols are built around keeping private data in the hands of our customers and away from the internet and have been verified by both over and over. US government testers and independent cybersecurity experts,” Mr. Lisberg said in a statement. “We don’t know why some people insist on falsely claiming otherwise, but they have never provided solid evidence to support their theory, and drone professionals have said their data is protected and DJI products are the most reliable, they understand that it remains the most powerful products. and efficient drones for critical jobs.”

But an analysis by cybersecurity firm River Loop Security published in March 2020 of a DJI product, a photo and video editing app called DJI Mimo, made “several disturbing discoveries.” These include the product’s reliance on analytical tools. another Chinese company, MobTech, “openly cooperating with the Chinese government.”

As the firm reports in its analysis, most of DJI Mimo’s data is “sent unencrypted to MobTech and therefore easily visible to any entity positioned to view the user’s network traffic. For example, the Chinese government (aka the Great Firewall) running the Golden Shield Project. Chinese), can capture all this data. As far as we can see, the user is not informed and cannot prevent this data transfer.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Banks’ letter to the attorney general expressed concern that DJI drones could be used to spy on Mr. Banks. Biden. DroneXL, a blog on drone technology, said that a drone flying over the Eisenhower Administration Building near the White House in June 2020 looks like a DJI drone, by CNN reporter Jim Acosta.