London [UK], April 17 : UK government officials have expressed private worries that drones manufactured in China are being utilised to capture high-resolution imagery of essential national infrastructure locations in the UK, contrary to guidance provided by the nation's security services, as reported by The Financial Post.
National Grid Plc, which manages the country's electricity and gas distribution networks, employs drones produced by Shenzhen-based SZ DJI Technology Co. to record videos, take photographs, and capture thermal images of its electricity substations, according to details shared on its website as recently as September.
The Financial Post also indicated that DJI drones have been utilized for surveying the construction of Electricite de France SA's Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, inspecting solar energy facilities, and by Thames Water for overseeing reservoirs and water supplies.
The use of these drones occurs despite a 2023 warning from the UK's National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), a division of the domestic security service MI5, advising British organizations responsible for sensitive sites to exercise caution when employing drones "produced in countries with coercive data sharing practices," referencing China. Furthermore, in 2022, the US Department of Defense placed DJI on a blacklist of Chinese companies with military connections.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has cautioned that drones manufactured in China "present a considerable risk to critical infrastructure," given that they "may exhibit vulnerabilities that could allow data theft or enable network breaches."
Meanwhile, the advisory from the UK's NPSA to British firms states: "The foremost defense for organisations intending to utilise unmanned aerial systems (UAS) might be to limit UAS and their corresponding component procurement from nations that pose a security threat."
Employing Chinese-made drones at vital locations in the UK carries risks because Chinese national security legislation can obligate its companies to share information with the government, according to a UK government official who spoke anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the matter, as highlighted in The Financial Post report.
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