More Use of Drones Brings Benefits, Risks, Including Hacking, Says Allianz
A dramatic increase in commercial and recreational drones -- expected to triple in four years -- will create bigger safety risks from collisions, cyberattacks and terrorism, said insurer Allianz in a report released Tuesday. Use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)…
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likely would result in fewer work accidents and worker compensation losses, and speed up insurance claims, it said. But millions more drones in widespread use also could increase risks -- mainly mid-air collisions and loss of control -- resulting in potential multimillion-dollar claims against businesses, operators and manufacturers, Allianz added. Concerns that drones could be used for malicious acts and other "risk scenarios include the prospect of hackers ‘spoofing’ a UAS radio signal, potentially leading to a crash, the potential loss or theft of valuable recorded data when the device is transmitting information to the control station or after the flight by cyber-attack when the data has been stored," the report said. Registering drones and operators, training and educating pilots and using on-board cameras, flight communications and system maintenance are crucial to improving safety, said Allianz. Separately, ABI Research said in a Tuesday news release the small drone commercial market will exceed $30 billion by 2025.