Obama Responds to White House Drone Security Breach

Obama Responds to White House Drone Security Breach

  • Jan 27, 2015

So, ready for a little drone trivia? Can you name the 8 places in America where drones can NOT be flown? (Answers at the end of article.)

Yesterday, my colleague Matt Holden, associate content editor with Security Today, discussed the two-foot, quad copter drone being found in the middle of the night in a White House tree just after 3 a.m. After the White House going into lockdown, the drone operator stepped forward, trying to convince investigators that this breach of presidential security was an innocent mistake.

President Obama responded to this harmless crash with urgency from India, stating that it’s time the U.S. updates its laws to manage commercial and consumer drones, even though Obama’s own administration has lagged on this issue.

As the civilian use of drones rises and unmanned craft become cheaper, both Congress and the drone industry at-large have pressed for rules and clarification. Even the FAA has been pressed by Congress and was supposed to release proposed rules for small drones by the end of 2014, but this is now dragging into 2015.

For now, the rules for small drones are:

  • Keep them under 400 feet in altitude;
  • Stay 5 miles away from an airport;
  • Always keep the drone in sight of the pilot; and
  • Do not fly in highly-populated areas.

Answers to drone trivia:

  • All of Washington, D.C. – nation’s capital is a permanent no-fly zone.
  • Airports – drones are banned within 5 miles of airports.
  • Stadiums – if it can hold 30,000 or more people, drones are not welcome within 1 mile.
  • Alaska, Montana and Colorado – using drones for hunting in these states is considered cheating.
  • Near military bases – near meaning, don’t even try it.
  • Florida police officers – not allowed to fly drones.
  • National parks – although it makes for awesome pics for your Instagram, drones can harm wildlife and nature.

Update: I just read that the man who crashed the drone at the White House was a still-unidentified, government employee who had been drinking. Apparently the man reported that he had a feeling the drone might have touched White House grounds, but he went home to sleep.

(Image courtesy of Newsweek.com.)

Featured

  • Maximizing Your Security Budget This Year

    Perimeter Security Standards for Multi-Site Businesses

    When you run or own a business that has multiple locations, it is important to set clear perimeter security standards. By doing this, it allows you to assess and mitigate any potential threats or risks at each site or location efficiently and effectively. Read Now

  • New Research Shows a Continuing Increase in Ransomware Victims

    GuidePoint Security recently announced the release of GuidePoint Research and Intelligence Team’s (GRIT) Q1 2024 Ransomware Report. In addition to revealing a nearly 20% year-over-year increase in the number of ransomware victims, the GRIT Q1 2024 Ransomware Report observes major shifts in the behavioral patterns of ransomware groups following law enforcement activity – including the continued targeting of previously “off-limits” organizations and industries, such as emergency hospitals. Read Now

  • OpenAI's GPT-4 Is Capable of Autonomously Exploiting Zero-Day Vulnerabilities

    According to a new study from four computer scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, OpenAI’s paid chatbot, GPT-4, is capable of autonomously exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities without any human assistance. Read Now

  • Getting in Someone’s Face

    There was a time, not so long ago, when the tradeshow industry must have thought COVID-19 might wipe out face-to-face meetings. It sure seemed that way about three years ago. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • ISC West
Most   Popular

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • Hanwha QNO-7012R

    Hanwha QNO-7012R

    The Q Series cameras are equipped with an Open Platform chipset for easy and seamless integration with third-party systems and solutions, and analog video output (CVBS) support for easy camera positioning during installation. A suite of on-board intelligent video analytics covers tampering, directional/virtual line detection, defocus detection, enter/exit, and motion detection. 3

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.” 3

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols. 3