Puuurrr...  rom rom rom, meow!  <3

   ---------- Forwarded message ----------
   From: "PFIR (People For Internet Responsibility) Announcement List"
   <[1]pfir@pfir.org>
   Date: Oct 30, 2016 12:09 PM
   Subject: [ PFIR ] There's a new way to take down drones, and it doesn't
   involve shotguns
   To: <[2]pfir-list@pfir.org>

   There's a new way to take down drones, and it doesn't involve shotguns

   [3]http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/10/drone-hijacker-gives-hackers
   -complete-control-of-aircraft-in-midflight/

   Now, a researcher has demonstrated a significantly more subtle and
   proactive remedy that doesn't involve shotgun blasts or after-the-fact
   arrests by law enforcement. It's a radio transmitter that seizes
   complete control of nearby drones as they're in mid-flight. From then
   on, the drones are under the full control of the person with the
   hijacking device. The remote control in the possession of the original
   operator experiences a loss of all functions, including steering,
   acceleration, and altitude. The hack works against any drone that
   communicates over DSMx, a widely used remote control protocol for
   operating hobbyist drones, planes, helicopters, cars, and boats.

    - - -

   There are interesting comments about which common protocols are
   actually vulnerable to this attack, but perhaps much more to the point
   -- and this aspect seems to almost always be overlooked in discussions
   like this even though it should be obvious -- any flyer operating in
   autonomous mode with the main radio purposely inoperative (it could be
   programmed to enable briefly for takeoff and landing if necessary)
   will be invulnerable to such attacks, and still be extremely capable --
   in most cases fully able to fly its entire programmed mission without
   interference. This includes virtually all of the systems based on the
   widely available open source ArduCopter code.

References

   1. mailto:pfir@pfir.org
   2. mailto:pfir-list@pfir.org
   3. http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/10/drone-hijacker-gives-hackers-complete-control-of-aircraft-in-midflight/