Governments around the world have responded to the prevalence of
the use of drones by increasing regulation and supervision.
In many countries, including Australia, there appears to be a
focus on regulating the use of airspace in a manner that minimises
the property damage and personal injury risks that drones
present.1 Some insurers now offer insurance for the
risks particular to the use of drones, including first and third
party accidental damage. There is, however, another significant
risk arising from the use of drones: their susceptibility to
cyber-attack.
Drones are increasingly a target for cyber attackers. Drones use
software and data, some of which may be unencrypted, to determine
their location and behaviour. In one early incident, Iran
state-based media said Iran had captured a large US stealth
military drone unharmed, by jamming its GPS signals and feeding it
incorrect GPS data, which caused the drone to believe that it was
landing at a US air base in
