Four Key Questions to Ask Before Starting Your Counterdrone Program

12 Mar 2019

As drone technology continues to advance and improve, the possibilities for use expand and become more creative. According to Goldman Sachs, the drone technology industry as a whole stands to be a $100 billion opportunity by 2020. As with any technology, consumers will find ways to use it to solve problems, but also find ways to use it for unintended or malicious purposes.

The airspace security industry is growing rapidly, and laws involving the safe integration of drones to international airspace are slow to catch up. As more drone incidents and airspace intrusions are occurring,organizations protecting high-risk and high-value infrastructure must be proactive and protect their airspace from drone threats.

It is important now, more than ever, to understand and assess lower airspace activity and gain situational awareness on drones entering critical airspace. A combination of hardware and software can be used to identify and classify drones and determine the location of the drone and pilot.Depending on the types of hardware and software, security personnel should be able to identify the drone manufacturer, model, time and length of drone activity, and location of the pilot.

Before pursuing a counterdrone program for your organization, it’s important to ask a few questions, which include:

What are your current security needs? 
Drones are capable of carrying payloads of any kind, up to hundreds of pounds. Cameras can be used for espionage, and payloads can drop weapons, drugs, or other sensitive materials. Drones are also laptops in the sky and can be used by sophisticated hackers to conduct espionage and compromise data centers and IT networks.