Drone King DJI Has a Serious Pentagon Problem

What a difference a month makes. On Aug. 2 the U.S. Army issued a memo directing its personnel to stop using drones made by SZ DJI Technology Co. and to uninstall all DJI software. The Army had become aware of security holes in the Chinese company’s products, according to the memo, a leaked copy of which soon appeared on the drone site SUAS News. Initially, the company brushed off the news. “DJI makes civilian drones for peaceful purposes,” it said in a statement at the time. “If military members choose to buy and use our products as the best way to accomplish their tasks, we have no way of knowing who they are or what they do with them.”

That was then. DJI now says it will introduce a bug bounty program—meaning it will pay independent hackers who find flaws in its systems—and has announced updates aimed at securing its software and user data. “We’re rapidly retooling our software development process to address our needs,” says spokesman Adam Lisberg. “It’s an increasing concern of ours.” The bug bounty rewards will range from $100 to $30,000, he says.