Video: Drone flight over Purcellville, VA

Aerial views of Purcellville, Va., captured by a DJI Phantom 4 drone.

Unmanned drone use could increase cyberattacks

AT&T and NASA are researching the development of an Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management solution that would support the safe and highly secure operation of drones in the national airspace.

AT&T has been working with NASA and other companies to make UAS flight path monitoring, flight planning, navigation, surveillance and tracking safer. “We have focused on the role of wireless networking and advanced technologies,” the company said in a press release.

AT&T brings expertise in networking, Internet of Things, cloud, identity management and cybersecurity to the effort.

Drones are already used in agriculture, public safety, construction, utilities, real estate and TV. AT&T uses drones to inspect cell towers and measure network performance at venues and locations across the country.

A key element AT&T and NASA are researching is the potential impact of cybersecurity threats. The vast availability of drones - and their many current and potential uses -- could increase their risk of cyberattacks. AT&T advocates cybersecurity protections designed into the system from the outset.

Chris Penrose, president of AT&T's Internet of Things Solutions, was selected as a member of the FAA's Drone Advisory Committee earlier this year. The group identifies and advises actions to support the safe introduction of UAS into our national airspace.

300,000 'recreational' drones in the skies by 2030

If you hear a strange sound in the air following you, it could be one of thousands of recreational drones given as presents for Christmas last month. Unfortunately not all drones (also called Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are being used for entertainment.

Last December, a couple believed they were being stalked by their neighbor using a drone. Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez where both spied on by paparazzi flying drones. Someone caused a riot by flying a drone onto the field during a soccer match last October. Drones are frequently used to drop contraband and weapons into prison yards. Airlines have had several close calls with drones. There are serious concerns that drones will be used by terrorists to cause harm. And they are even being used to spy on corporate activities.

The frequency of drone-related incidents is expected to rise over the coming years. The FAA estimates there will be 30,000 commercial drones in the United States by 2030. This number doesn't take into account recreational drones sold to individuals. Just taking a conservative estimate of ten recreational drones for every commercial one there could be 300,000 recreational drones by 2030.

To combat this growing problem, Drone Labs,LLC, a provider of drone-related technologies, announced the launch of its latest offering: Drone Detector. Much like a burglar alarm is used to detect home invasions, Drone Detector protects against privacy invasions. When a drone or drone operator is nearby, Drone Detector will alert you to their presence and give you the opportunity to respond to the threat.

"To be clear, most [drone] pilots are responsible, law-abiding people. We [at Drone Labs] are drone pilots ourselves. Unfortunately there are some bad pilots out there who don't follow the rules," said Drone Labs CEO and co-founder Zain Naboulsi. "We are committed to protecting people from unwanted drone invasions."

The device isn't currently meant to detect military drones, but Naboulsi says it can easily catch recreational and commercial drones. Competing companies have tried to detect drones by listening for them, but sound signatures are easy to hide for flying drones and cannot detect ground or water-based ones.

A deep look into the FAA's drone issue

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is struggling to come up with regulations to control commercial drones in the country's airspace. But the rampant commercial usage of drones continues to cloud the issue, with the FAA asserting its authority without any clear regulations regarding the use of drones in American airspace.

The problem is that drones have quickly gone from being simple toys for hobbyists to new tools for everything from law enforcement to monitoring crops to social media to even getting amazing, cost-effective high-definition aerial shots for television and film production.

Journalists, commercial television producers and filmmakers are buying or building their own drone units for just a few thousand dollars, and are quickly creating a host of new problems about what is legal and what is not in an increasingly wider grey area of aviation law that involves not only airspace safety but questions about first and fourth amendment rights protections.

New York attorney Brendan Schulman will give a presentation about the FAA's drone issues Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Schulman challenged the FAA for fining his client for using a drone to make a promotional commercial. He recently won the case, which was the first case of the FAA fining any business or individual for commercial use of a drone.

Also presenting will be Ben Gielow, general counsel and government relations manager at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International; and Parker Gyokeres, representing the recently-formed Professional Society of Drone Journalists.