A Taiwanese legislator said Tuesday (Dec. 1) that there are information security concerns about Chinese-made drones, but the proportion of government procurement of Chinese-made drones is as high as 70 percent. In response, Taiwan’s Executive Yuan President Su Tseng-chang said that he will conduct an inventory and if there are safety concerns, he will rule out or limit them.
Taiwan legislator He Xin-chun said Tuesday in the Legislative Yuan questioning, capital security is equal to national security, Chinese-made drones are likely to transmit data back to China, the U.S. and Japanese governments have indicated the replacement; but according to the Executive Yuan survey in May, of the 726 drones used by government agencies, the proportion of Chinese-made drones is less than 70 percent, many of which are still Chinese-made DJI drones.
Su responded that many Chinese-made ICTs were later proven to be banned by many countries due to their military background and national security concerns, and that Taiwan should also be strictly protected. He said that the Vice President of the Executive Yuan will be responsible for a comprehensive inventory, and will replace and restrict them as soon as possible in accordance with government regulations, while at the same time thinking of supporting measures.
In response to a question in the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday, Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairman Chen Yao-hsiang confirmed that some Chinese-made drones have security concerns.
In recent years, the safety hazards of Chinese-made drones have become a growing concern. According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on Monday, the Japanese government, in order to strengthen the protection of sensitive information, has decided, in principle, to gradually replace about a thousand small drones in each ministry with new models made in Japan starting next year. This will also exclude Chinese-made drones.
In August this year, the U.S. Department of Defense approved the federal government’s procurement and use of five U.S.-made small drones. The U.S. Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020, which prohibits U.S. government agencies from using or procuring Chinese-made UAS.
Experts warn that Chinese drone companies may transmit user data and other information to the Chinese government, and that users operating applications linked to Chinese products may need to connect to the U.S. government network, which could be hacked; in addition, some Chinese-made drones are equipped with facial recognition systems, which could pose a serious threat to public privacy.
Recent Comments