DJI develops ‘extra secure platform’ for government drone programs

Drone builder DJI has released DJI Government Edition, a platform for government drone programs with an extra focus on security. The data from the drone cannot leave the device, so that the information cannot fall into the wrong hands.

With DJI’s ‘classic’ drones, the user has full control over how the data from the device is collected, stored and sent. With the Government Edition, on the other hand, the telemetry data, photos and videos remain in the device itself. It would be impossible to share the information with unauthorized parties, including manufacturer DJI itself.

Broadly speaking, there are three differences between the Government Edition and DJI’s standard drones. First of all, Local Data Mode is always activated, so that no data can be transferred to other devices or parties via the internet. In addition, the devices have custom firmware. The IT department of a government agency has the opportunity to first research new firmware before implementing the software in the fleet. Finally, the DJI Government Edition drone and controller can only be paired together. Pairing with hardware from other parties is not possible.

According to DJI, the Government Edition meets the most stringent requirements of the government sector for data management, risk management and information sharing at the enterprise level. As examples of applications of the DJI Government Edition, the company cites government agencies engaged in infrastructure inspection, agriculture, and disaster recovery. In 2018, more than 10,000 drone flights were conducted in the US on behalf of the US Department of the Interior, Office of Aviation Services. About fifteen hundred cases involved flights with the DJI Government Edition, where the safety of the platform was extensively tested.

The DJI Government Edition is available immediately through select DJI Enterprise resellers. The company has not disclosed prices.