When it comes to IT resilience, drones and their control and monitoring technology are particularly in need of protection. While corrupted firmware updates, a failure of the communication infrastructure or manipulated databases on the ground are annoying at best, in the worst case scenario, UAS misconduct in the air can have serious consequences.
In order to further increase the safety of commercial UAS operations and to provide small and medium-sized companies in particular with guidance, the IT Safety & Security Competence Group of UAV DACH, in collaboration with the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), has developed a basic IT protection profile for the operation of unmanned aerial systems in the “Open” operating category in accordance with the European Drone Regulation, which is now also available for free download in English.
The guideline fits into the established system of IT baseline protection profiles from the BSI and is a practical guide for UAS operators who use drones as a tool for their own business operations. It looks at all the key mobile and stationary objects of the “Unmanned Aircraft System” that are required to carry out flight operations, including maintenance and repair. A reference architecture is also used to illustrate what an operational safety concept that includes buildings and rooms, computer networks and communication, IT systems and business processes might look like.
At the same time, CG IT Safety & Security is already working on a basic IT protection profile for drone use in the “Specific Category”.
The IT-Grundschutz profile for the operation of UAS in the „Open Category“ is available for download here:
https://www.bit.ly/IT-Grundschutz-Profil_Open_EN