A group of organisations has launched a project to strengthen security in the use of drones.
Connected Places Catapult (CPC) has joined with Cranfield University and Belfast based cyber security start-up Angoka in the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Authentication System (UASAS) project.
It has been backed by funding from UK Research and Innovation’s Future Flight Challenge, which is part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
The project will contribute to the use of drones in public services and the private sector, inlcuding in areas such as search and rescue, protecting national infrastructure and environmental monitoring.
CPC said it will focus on protecting the communications in controlling and flying drones, which could be at risk of being hacked and hijacked, through the creation of an authentication system as a trusted identification service. This would support organisations in ensuring that drones fly into the right zones and without adverse effects on other parties.
Mark Westwood, chief technology officer at CPC, said: : “With drones being set to become part of everyday life, one of the essential components is highly reliable and resilient security and authentication systems to ensure safe use.
"We are looking forward to being part of a project which will increase the confidence in drone technology and support the growth of a valuable market sector.”
Front image by Henrique Boney, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Image in text from GOV.UK, Open Government Licence v3.0
