Congress Calls For Accelerated Use Of Drones In U.S....

[paulitician]

A House-Senate conference report this week called on the Administration to accelerate the use of civilian unmanned aerial systems (UAS), or “drones,” in U.S. airspace.

The pending authorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration directs the Secretary of Transporation to develop within nine months “a comprehensive plan to safely accelerate the integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system.”

“The plan… shall provide for the safe integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system as soon as practicable, but not later than September 30, 2015.”

The conference bill, which still awaits final passage, also calls for establishment of UAS test ranges in cooperation with NASA and the Department of Defense, expanded use of UAS in the Arctic region, development of guidance for the operation of public unmanned aircraft systems, and new safety research to assess the risk of “catastrophic failure of the unmanned aircraft that would endanger other aircraft in the national airspace system.”

The Department of Defense is pursuing its own domestic UAS activities for training purposes and “domestic operations,” according to a 2007 DoD-FAA memorandum of agreement. (“Army Foresees Expanded Use of Drones in U.S. Airspace,” Secrecy News, January 19, 2012.)

Update: In the recently enacted FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act (section 1097), Congress mandated that “the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall establish a program to integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system at six test ranges.” This new test range program is supposed to be established within 180 days.

Congress Calls for Accelerated Use of Drones in U.S. | Secrecy News
DRUDGE REPORT 2012®

 

[Ed Spacer]

I.have a drone...in my pants...

 

[waltky]

Obama keepin' an eye out fer terrorists an' Hispexican druglords...

Drones over U.S. get OK by Congress
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 - Look! Up in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It’s … a drone, and it’s watching you. That’s what privacy advocates fear from a bill Congress passed this week to make it easier for the government to fly unmanned spy planes in U.S. airspace.

The FAA Reauthorization Act, which President Obama is expected to sign, also orders the Federal Aviation Administration to develop regulations for the testing and licensing of commercial drones by 2015. Privacy advocates say the measure will lead to widespread use of drones for electronic surveillance by police agencies across the country and eventually by private companies as well. “There are serious policy questions on the horizon about privacy and surveillance, by both government agencies and commercial entities,” said Steven Aftergood, who heads the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. The Electronic Frontier Foundation also is “concerned about the implications for surveillance by government agencies,” said attorney Jennifer Lynch.

The provision in the legislation is the fruit of “a huge push by lawmakers and the defense sector to expand the use of drones” in American airspace, she added. According to some estimates, the commercial drone market in the United States could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars once the FAA clears their use. The agency projects that 30,000 drones could be in the nation’s skies by 2020. The highest-profile use of drones by the United States has been in the CIA’s armed Predator-drone program, which targets al Qaeda terrorist leaders. But the vast majority of U.S. drone missions, even in war zones, are flown for surveillance. Some drones are as small as model aircraft, while others have the wingspan of a full-size jet.

In Afghanistan, the U.S. use of drone surveillance has grown so rapidly that it has created a glut of video material to be analyzed. The legislation would order the FAA, before the end of the year, to expedite the process through which it authorizes the use of drones by federal, state and local police and other agencies. The FAA currently issues certificates, which can cover multiple flights by more than one aircraft in a particular area, on a case-by-case basis. The Department of Homeland Security is the only federal agency to discuss openly its use of drones in domestic airspace.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an agency within the department, operates nine drones, variants of the CIA’s feared Predator. The aircraft, which are flown remotely by a team of 80 fully qualified pilots, are used principally for border and counternarcotics surveillance under four long-term FAA certificates. Officials say they can be used on a short-term basis for a variety of other public-safety and emergency-management missions if a separate certificate is issued for that mission. “It’s not all about surveillance,” Mr. Aftergood said.

More Drones over U.S. get OK by Congress - Washington Times

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Drones over U.S. may pose security risks
Feb. 8, 2012 WASHINGTON -- Thousands of tiny unmanned aircraft or drones flying into civilian airspace over the United States can pose a security threat as they may be difficult to monitor in the long run and some craft may fall into enemy hands, security analysts say.

Although debate over the use of surveillance drones, approved by Congress this week, centers on civil liberties and individuals' rights, a much greater risk of hostile drones entering U.S. airspace undetected isn't being considered, analysts said. The Federation Aviation Administration said up to 30,000 drones could be in airspace shared with airliners carrying passengers. Current lobbying for the drones insists there will be enough qualified experts to operate the drones safely and not endanger airborne human traffic but there are many questions unanswered about how the drone operators would be regulated.

More important, at a time when government defense cutbacks are the norm, little consideration is being given to potentially unfathomable costs of maintaining a vast fleet of drones, their monitors and operators and the whole regulatory framework required to run the system efficiently and safely. There is risk, too, that terrorists will attempt to penetrate the drone network with unpredictable consequences for the safety of the set-up as well as citizens, analysts said. Once the bill has been signed by U.S. President Barack Obama, the FAA Reauthorization Act will allow the FAA to give drone traffic the go-ahead and develop regulations for testing and licensing by 2015.

The expectations are that the law eventually will streamline processes for multilevel licensing of drone flights by federal, state and local police and other government agencies. The legislation follows vigorous campaigning by defense and security industries that see drones as a multibillion-dollar growth area. The defense and security industries have already made up for declining revenues in direct defense acquisitions by developing new business to counter cyberthreats, border body scanners and giant merchandise scanners and a range of software to counter Internet fraud, identity fraud called phishing and hacking of sensitive corporate and government data.

The American Civil Liberties Union said the legislation could severely undermine Americans' privacy. The Electronic Frontier Foundation echoed those privacy concerns. U.S. defense and security forces deployed drones of varying sizes in Afghanistan and Iraq. The CIA's armed Predator drone program targeted al-Qaida leaders but officials said smaller drones were deployed outside U.S. diplomatic areas in Iraq to monitor the safety of U.S. officials during their movements within the country. In addition to the drones, the race is on to develop unmanned aircraft that can safely share airspace reserved for civilian aviation.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Se...urity-risks/UPI-86341328740671/#ixzz1lr5jXStt

 

[waltky]

Granny says if dey send one o' dem helicopter drones to peek inna window when she takin' a shower - she liable to shoot it outta the air...

FAA Has Authorized 106 Government ‘Entities’ to Fly Domestic Drones
July 20, 2012 - Since Jan. 1 of this year, according to congressional testimony presented Thursday by the Government Accountability Office, the Federal Aviation Administration has authorized 106 federal, state and local government “entities” to fly “unmanned aircraft systems,” also known as drones, within U.S. airspace.

“We are now on the edge of a new horizon: using unmanned aerial systems within the homeland,” House Homeland Security Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Michael McCaul (R.-Texas) said as he introduced the testimony. “Currently,” said McCaul, “there are about 200 active Certificates of Authorization issued by the Federal Aviation Administration to over 100 different entities, such as law enforcement departments and academic institutions, to fly drones domestically.” At his panel’s Thursday hearing, McCaul showed a map of the United States with markers indicating the locations where--as of April--government entities had been approved by the FAA to fly drones. “The number of recipients since that time has increased,” McCaul noted.

GAO testified that the FAA’s long-term goal is to permit drones to operate in U.S. airspace “to the greatest extent possible.” The proliferation of domestic drones, GAO said, raises a number of issues, the first of which is the right to privacy. “First is privacy as it relates to the collection and use of surveillance data,” Gerald L. Dillingham, GAO’s director of Physical Infrastructure Issues told the House Homeland Subcommittee on Oversight on Thursday.

“Members of Congress, civil liberties organizations and civilians have expressed concerns that the potential increased use of UAS in the national airspace by law enforcement or for commercial purposes has potential privacy implications,” said Dillingham. “Currently, no federal agency has specific statutory responsibility to regulate privacy matters relating to UAS. Stakeholders have told us that by developing guidelines for the appropriate use of UASs ahead of widespread proliferation could in fact preclude abuses of the technology and negative public perceptions of the potential uses that are planned for these aircraft.”

“The Federal Aviation Administration authorizes military and non-military (academic institutions; federal, state, and local governments including law enforcement entities; and private sector entities) UAS operations on a limited basis after conducting a case-by-case safety review,” Dillingham said. “Only federal, state, and local government agencies can apply for a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA); private sector entities must apply for special airworthiness certificates in the experimental category,” Dillingham said. “Between January 1, 2012 and July 17, 2012,” said Dillingham, “FAA had issued 201 COAs to 106 federal, state and local government entities across the United States, including law enforcement entities as well as academic institutions.”

More FAA Has Authorized 106 Government

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High anxiety on the Hill about civilian drone use
Thursday, July 19, 2012 - When it comes to drones, the DHS is MIA, lawmakers said Thursday.

Members of Congress from both parties fear that the Department of Homeland Security hasn’t crafted adequate security protocols for the looming explosion of private, domestic drone use. Witnesses, including a University of Texas professor who hijacked a drone last month, told the House Homeland Security subcommittee on oversight, investigations and management that, with the proper equipment and expertise, it’s relatively easy to jam drones’ GPS signals and take control of them. Drones, also called unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs, are currently used only by the military and law enforcement agencies.

But they will be available for commercial and personal use beginning in 2015, and critics say the federal government isn’t considering how dangerous they could be in the wrong hands. “We are on the edge of a new horizon,” said Rep. Michael T. McCaul, Texas Republican and subcommittee chairman. “The Department of Homeland Security’s mission is to protect the homeland. It should not take a 9/11-style attack by a terrorist organization to cause DHS to develop guidance on the security implications of domestic drones.” The Federal Aviation Administration will be responsible for issuing drone permits, and will monitor UAVs in the sky in much the same way it does now for traditional planes and helicopters.

A Homeland Security spokesman Thursday referred all drone questions to the FAA, and would not say why the department turned down Mr. McCaul’s invitation to appear before his panel Thursday. The panel did not hear from any representatives from the FAA. Mr. McCaul said the risks drones pose to U.S. citizens and infrastructure is clear. In September, Rezwan Ferdaus, a 26-year-old Massachusetts man, was accused by federal authorities of planning to attack the Capitol building and the Pentagon with UAVs packed with explosives.

The FBI foiled the plan, but analysts say the federal government should expect similar attacks in the future. In 2015, analysts say, it will be easy for anyone with enough cash to buy a drone and potentially turn it into a weapon. But the risk doesn’t stop there, said Todd Humphreys, the University of Texas at Austin scholar who last month, along with several of his graduate students, hijacked a surveillance drone to demonstrate holes in their security systems.

More High anxiety on the Hill about civilian drone use - Washington Times

 

[paulitician]

The Sheeple just don't care much about this. They're way too busy watching their Porn & Reality TV, and blaming mass murder tragedies on each other. Distracted by mindless absurd follies. One guy put a dog on the roof of his car when he was young, the other guy ate dogs when he was young. See, those are the things the American Sheeple really care about. Meanwhile, a miserable Third World Police State is at our doorstep. It's just very very sad.

 

[waltky]

Here's lookin' at ya...

Police chiefs adopt code of conduct for drone use
Thursday, August 16, 2012 - The nation’s police chiefs have adopted a code of conduct for their use of drones, including letting any images captured by unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, be open to inspection by the public, and that the images not be stored unless they are evidence of a crime or part of an ongoing investigation.

The chiefs also said that if they plan to fly drones over an area where they are likely to spot criminal activity and where they would be intruding on someone’s “reasonable expectations of privacy,” they should seek to get a search warrant first.

In their three-page document, the chiefs said they are aware of privacy issues that have arisen with the prospect of an explosion in both governmental and private use of drone technology.

“Privacy concerns are an issue that must be dealt with effectively if a law enforcement agency expects the public to support the use of UAV by their police,” the chiefs said.

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, the industry trade group, applauded the new rules, saying they struck a good balance.

Here are the eight operational rules the chiefs recommended:

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Stepped-up computer monitoring of federal workers worries privacy advocates
August 16`12 - When the Food and Drug Administration started spying on a group of agency scientists, it installed monitoring software on their laptop computers to capture their communications.

The software, sold by SpectorSoft of Vero Beach, Fla., could do more than vacuum up the scientists’ e-mails as they complained to lawmakers and others about medical devices they thought were dangerous. It could be programmed to intercept a tweet or Facebook post. It could snap screen shots of their computers. It could even track an employee’s keystrokes, retrieve files from hard drives or search for keywords. “Every activity, in complete detail,” SpectorSoft’s Web site says about its best-selling product, Spector 360, which the company says it has sold to dozens of federal agencies.

Government workers have long known their bosses can look over their shoulder to monitor their computer activity. But now, prompted by the WikiLeaks scandal and concerns over unauthorized disclosures, the government is secretly capturing a far richer, more granular picture of their communications, in real time. Federal workers’ personal computers are also increasingly seen as fair game, experts said.

Nonintelligence agencies spent $5.6 billion in fiscal 2011 to safeguard their classified information with hardware, software, personnel and other methods, up from $4.7 billion in fiscal 2010, according to the Information Security Oversight Office. Although only a portion of the money — the amount is not specified — was spent on monitoring for insider threats, industry experts say virtually every arm of the government conducts some form of sophisticated electronic monitoring. “It used to be, to get all of an agency’s records out you needed a truck,” said Jason Radgowsky, director of information security and privacy for District-based Tantus Technologies, which evaluates monitoring systems for the Federal Aviation Administration, the Export-Import Bank and the National Institutes of Health. “Now you can put everything on a little USB thumb drive.”

The stepped-up monitoring is raising red flags for privacy advocates, who have cited the potential for abuse. Among other concerns, they say they are alarmed that the government has monitored federal workers — including the FDA scientists, starting in 2010 — when they use Gmail, Yahoo or other personal e-mail accounts on government computers. Although the FDA has said it acted out of concern that the scientists were improperly sharing trade secrets, the scientists have argued in a lawsuit that they were targeted because they were blowing the whistle on what they thought had been an unethical review process. At least two other agencies, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Maritime Commission, are under congressional scrutiny for seeking and using employee monitoring software that critics say is intrusive.

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