Drones have been taking over the world, everyone with a passing interest in making videos has one and DJI firmware hacking gives you the ability to remove all restrictions (no-fly zones, height and distance) which under most jurisdictions is illegal (mostly EU and FAA for the US).
Drone hackers in the UK are busy at work exploiting the application security shortcomings of a major manufacturer to circumvent restrictions, including flight elevation limits. DJI says it has pushed out a firmware update to nip the problem in the bud, but one expert The Register spoke to maintains that hacking is still possible.
DJI Firmware Hacking Removes Drone Flight Restrictions
The potential for drone hacking can be traced back to a mistake made by DJI in leaving development debug code in its Assistant 2 application. Changes could be made by commenting out one line in a file and setting the debug flag from false to true. The shortcoming exposed a full range of parameters that enabled hackers to turn off safeguards.
This new software change allows responsible drone pilots to take flight in controlled airspace when they have LAANC approval. Or simply put an approval to fly in controlled airspace. Even when pilots have airspace approval, oftentimes their drones can remain grounded.
On YouTube, Facebook, drone forums, and Slack groups around the internet, hackers have published instructions for altering the firmware on DJI's drones, leading to a rising number of drone pilots who have circumvented flight restrictions imposed by DJI on its products. In recent days the company has updated its software to render these hacks moot, and has started removing vulnerable versions of its firmware from its servers in an attempt to regain control of its drones.
"Unauthorized modification of a DJI drone is not recommended, as it can cause unstable flight behavior that could make operating the drone unsafe," Victor Wang, DJI's technology security director, told me in a statement. "DJI is not responsible for the performance of a modified drone and we strongly condemn any user who attempts to modify their drone for illegal or unsafe use."
In June, I reported about a Russian company called Coptersafe that's dedicated to helping pilots alter their drone firmware to evade DJI's no-fly zone, altitude, and speed limits, restrictions that the company says inform pilots who want to fly according to regulations. Coptersafe was selling its hacks for more than $200 per device, but in recent weeks, DIY hackers have reverse-engineered the Coptersafe software and have released it for free, leading to its proliferation around the internet.
Though DJI says its no-fly zones are voluntary guidelines that can be circumvented with approval from the company, pilots see them as an infringement of their ownership rights. The company removed versions of its firmware that are vulnerable to hacking from its servers, and if DJI drones that already had vulnerable firmware installed connected to the internet, the drones would auto-update to a less vulnerable version of the software.
"A recent firmware update issued for all DJI drones fixes reported issues and ensures DJI's products continue to provide information and features supporting safe flight," the company told me in a statement. "DJI will continue to investigate additional reports of unauthorized modifications and issue software updates to address them without further announcement."
The steps DJI took to prevent the hacking of its drones sparked further criticism from a vocal portion of the consumer drone community determined to win full control of how and where they fly their drones. Hackers, meanwhile, have started all-out assault on DJI's flight software. Online modification communities have taken to private Facebook groups and Slack channels dedicated to "unlocking" DJI's products.
ThatDumbDronie's Facebook group, a now-secret forum called 'MyDJI - Drone Development,' has grown by more than 400 members in the past week, and now wields a 600-strong member base, with many members sharing images of high-altitude flights with drones unshackled from DJI's limitations.
The statement above represents a common sentiment felt by drone owners venting on forums across the web. Many of these drone owners are turning to the internet to find ways to disable the manufacturer's flight restrictions. Removing manufacturer flight restrictions is not hard, even for those that are less tech-savvy.
There are a few low-cost third-party software programs available that allow drone users to unlock restrictions. One of the most popular programs, No Limit Dronez (NLD), costs less than $50 per drone and gives pilots access to features such as:
For most manufacturers, this feature was not available at the time of manufacturing or in earlier versions of the firmware. Geofence restrictions were enabled on devices through a firmware update. For DJI products, this restriction can be removed by rolling back the firmware to an older version. Drone owners can easily downgrade firmware by using one of the many software options available online, like NLD. It requires no IT knowledge, and It is as simple as plugging in your drone via USB to your computer and following a few steps.
By Default, most drones come with 120ft "beginners' mode" that you can manually override by check-marking a box that allows you to reach 400ft or some are set to go up to 180ft. In either example, this restriction can be removed easily. Yuneec brand drones will allow you to raise it to 3000ft inside the Yuneec GUI interface, other manufacturers like DJI will require users to downgrade the firmware to remove this restriction. Users can also remove all altitude restrictions to fly at high altitudes through third-party software such as NLD.
Drones flying within restricted areas, beyond the line of sight, and above altitude limits isn't a hypothetical situation. Data collected from our drone detection platforms as well as from other companies' systems confirm these flights. When unauthorized flights occur near airports or critical infrastructures, it creates unnecessary safety threats. In other cases, illegal flights lead to perimeter breaches with the intent to harm. We can no longer rely solely on drone manufacturers to build this type of safety guard into their drone.
If this activation process is not performed, the aircraft will not have access to the correct geospatial information and flight functions for that region, and its operations will be restricted if you update the upcoming firmware: Live camera streaming will be disabled, and flight will be limited to a 50-meter (164-foot) radius up to 30 meters (98 feet) high.
In a Motherboard article, Ben Sullivan outlines the arms race underway between pilots and a manufacturer trying to wrestle back control of its aircraft. DJI has since removed versions of its firmware that are vulnerable to hacking from its servers, and auto-updated DJI drones that already had vulnerable firmware installed.
On several sites, the hacking of DJI drones has been referred to as some kind of independence day. But the ironic thing about drone emancipation is that it will inevitably lead to stricter regulations being imposed on the entire pilot community. One incident is all it will take for public opinion to shift dramatically. And when that happens, regulations will tighten and the same pilots who complained about Geofences being enforced today will be left wishing things could go back to how they were.
The ethics of drone hacking are sketchy at best. The obvious fear is that an increase in hacked DJI products will lead to more dangerous flights and make a terrible, life-threatening accident more likely. Any serious situation involving a drone will be enough to justify firmer regulations that will halt the pace of innovation in the consumer and commercial markets. For that reason, we strongly advise our readers against such actions.
Recently numerous underground groups of drone users have sprung up and are collaborating on removing restrictions from their drones and even change performance parameters. For example, a Facebook group for drone enthusiasts included hackers in its ranks. A Slack group is even more active and seems to be where a lot of the actual effort is taking place, we're told.
"The main focus of efforts is removing height restrictions with ongoing efforts to remove no-fly zones, there's even secret groups of drone pilots now having height competitions to see who can push their drone's performance the furthest," a source told El Reg. "A lot of this extreme behaviour by DJI owners is a direct backlash at DJI for adding a range of restrictions including having to connect to their servers via the internet. Recently, for example, DJI's infrastructure was down and users complained they were grounded as a result. The no-fly zone database has many false positives."
A recent firmware update for Phantom 4 Pro, Phantom 4 Advanced, Phantom 3 Standard, Phantom 3 SE, Mavic Pro, Spark, and Inspire 2, among others, fixes reported issues and ensures DJI's products continue to provide information and features supporting safe flight. DJI will continue to investigate additional reports of unauthorised firmware modifications and issue software updates to address them without further announcement.
Victor Wang, DJI Technology security director, reiterated that DJI's geofencing features (which provide "no-fly zone" data) are designed specifically to provide information to DJI customers about airspace where drone flight raises serious safety or security concerns. He also said that DJI continually monitors modifications to its drones that might make their operations "non-compliant with best safety practices". 2ff7e9595c
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