DJI creates high-security solution for government drone programs

DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, is introducing DJI Government Edition, a new comprehensive drone solution created specifically for use in high-security situations by government agencies around the world. While DJI customers have always had full control over how the data they generate with drones is collected, stored and transmitted, Government Edition’s unique architecture ensures that drone data, including photos and videos captured during flight, never leave the drone and therefore can never be shared with unauthorized parties including DJI. This architecture ensures Government Edition meets the stringent requirements of the government sector for data management, risk mitigation, and enterprise-level data sharing control. 

“DJI Government Edition allows government agencies to serve the public more efficiently and effectively using the industry’s most widely-adopted drone technology, while maintaining total control over their data,” said Mario Rebello, vice president and regional manager of North America at DJI. “This is DJI’s most secure drone solution to-date because it prevents users from accidentally or even intentionally transferring data off of the drone to other parties. By incorporating these assurances into its architecture, the Government Edition solution meets the rigorous data security expectations of government agencies, and provides them the safety, reliability, and ease of operation that DJI’s products are respected for by commercial drone pilots around the world.” 

Government Edition empowers government agencies around the world to benefit from DJI’s civilian drone technology for use cases like agricultural analysis and infrastructure inspections to public land management and disaster response. DJI developed the solution to meet the needs of the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Aviation Services, which operated more than 10,000 drone flights in 2018 alone. DJI Government Edition Mavic Pro and Matrice 600 Pro drones were used in over 1,500 of those missions and their security has been validated through multiple audits performed by DOI’s external and internal partners. 

The Government Edition solution is based on DJI’s industry-leading drone hardware and is controlled by custom device firmware and operational software in a unique architecture that supports the highest data security requirements: 

• No Data Transmission – A permanently enabled Local Data Mode within the custom DJI Pilot application prevents data transfer from the mobile application over the internet to third parties or to DJI.
• Firmware Update Reviews – Government agency aviation and IT departments can review firmware updates in electronic isolation before applying them to their fleets and have full control over how to validate them and when to install them on DJI drones.
• Restricted Hardware Pairing – Drones and remote controllers running Government Edition solution firmware can only be linked with each other and are not compatible with other DJI products, preventing the use of unsecure hardware and unauthorized third-party applications. 

“Government Edition allows us to tell our clients that all of their telemetry data, meaning where their drone is flying, is stored securely and not shared with anyone but them,” said Brandon Torres Declet, CEO and Co-Founder at Measure. “Having Government Edition will allow us more control over that process, and avoiding automatic firmware updates that can potentially impact our operation schedule is important – it’s also important to government customers.” 

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