In the memo obtained by WIRED, DHS shows less confidence in its ability to detect threatening drones. The document, which authorities were instructed not to make public, states that “tactics and technology to evade anti-UAS capabilities are circulating and sold online with little or no regulation.” In reality, police’s ability to track errant drones is hampered by a variety of evolving technologies, the memo says, including “autonomous flight, 5G command and control, jamming protection technology, swarm technology, and software that disable geofence restrictions.”
The mystery in New Jersey and similar phenomena in Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland, among other states, have highlighted ongoing efforts by state and federal lawmakers to expand government access to anti-UAS technology. Speaking to reporters via Zoom on Saturday, a DHS official said the agency is urging Congress to “extend and expand existing counter-drone authorities” and ensure that “state and local authorities also receive the tools they need.” they need to respond to such threats.” “
Currently, only a handful of federal agencies (including DHS and the Departments of Energy, Justice and Defense) are legally permitted to shoot down a drone within US airspace.
People’s Property Executive Director Ryan Shapiro says the August memo makes clear that DHS is constantly working to obtain new technologies and legal privileges for law enforcement. But any impact on Americans’ civil liberties, he says, should not be justified simply by pointing to a “nebulous and deceptively constructed threat.”
While terms like “violent extremists” conjure images of neo-Nazis and domestic terrorists hoping to incite a second civil war in the United States, Shapiro says the government has also misleadingly applied such labels to help undermine rights groups. the animals. at the behest of corporations. Activists have relied heavily on drones over the past decade, he says, to help Gather evidence of cruelty on factory farms—where covert recording has been criminalized under so-called “gag” laws.
During Saturday’s briefing, FBI officials said authorities had received approximately 5,000 drone tips in connection with the East Coast sightings, ultimately generating about 100 viable leads. Most reports seemed consistent, they said, with misidentified flights landing and taking off from major airports in the region.
While the FBI worked to allay concerns stemming from the recent sightings, it also urged Americans not to completely dismiss the idea that unauthorized drones pose a serious threat. “We know well that criminals who break the law do, in fact, use (drones) to support their actions,” one official said, adding that, in contrast, recent widespread sightings appear largely benign.
In a statement to WIRED, a DHS spokesperson said the agency continues to “advise federal, state and local partners to remain vigilant for potential threats and encourages the public to report any suspicious activity to local authorities.”