After suspicious drone flights over the Paris air space right after Charlie Hebdo shooting and a drunk government employee crashing a drone into the White House lawn, the Secret Service are preparing to defend against drones. Currently, they are conducting test drone flights over the U.S. capital in order to figure out ways to make them fall or redirect their trajectory.


One of the biggest challenges for the Secret Service would be to detect a drone and then hack its system within seconds to make it ineffective. Many drones use common wireless technologies to establish connection, such as radio signals, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Blocking these systems in case of drone attack could also disrupt other lines of communication depending on these technologies.


Jeremy Gillula, technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, explained that there are three effective methods to stop a drone. The first way is using radio signals to hack the drone and trick it into believing that its somewhere else. The second method is using "geo fence", which is a virtual fence that communicates to drones that a specific area is off-limits. The last measure is using a weapon or a net to catch it, much like hunting for a bird.


The Secret Service did not give any further details about the project other than making a public statement about the implementation of test flights. The press release was distributed to avoid panic in the wake of drones spotted over Paris.


For the moment we can do our part sharing the Drone Survival Guide!


Story via Associated Press, image via Gizmodo

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