Computer Hacking Drones Become a Reality

Drones are being called the future of technology and they are projected to be used in numerous large scale projects such as the proposed project by Facebook to provide Wi-Fi service through drones. However, there is a side to this technology that may worsen the data security situation. A company known as Aerial Assault successfully transformed a drone into a hacking device which is capable of scanning all the vulnerable devices below its coverage area and hacking them. Even though this technology is being shown in a positive light as it may help individuals scan network problems more easily, the negative aspects of this technology may be more significant.

This may be the first of its kind device which uses aerial penetration as a way of hacking into vulnerable ports. The makers of this device have announced the price at $2,500 and the commercial availability of the device will be announced soon as well. According to the representatives of the company, the drone has been designed in such a way that it can perform some basic penetration testing and identifies and controls the data with the use of GPS coordinates provided by the flight control system installed in the aircraft. Once the drone coordinates the data with the location, the operating system can be used to perform the penetration tasks.

Although the unmanned aircraft has not been designed to spread malware, its functionality may allow it to do so with a little modification. The device allows a great degree of flexibility to the user who may be free to decide about the applications of the drone. The user can modify custom scripts to change the way the device works and perform extensive penetration testing. The creators of the device emphasize that the intended use is to test basic vulnerabilities, however, the drone’s functionality may sound some alarms regarding the unregulated use of drones.