Chinese-Made Drones Could Steal Sensitive US Data, DHS Warns

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has warned American companies that Chinese-made drones could put their sensitive information at risk.

A report by the DHS reviewed by Reuters, titled "Chinese Manufactured Unmanned Aircraft Systems," stated that U.S. government officials have "strong concerns about any technology product that takes American data into the territory of an authoritarian state that permits its intelligence services to have unfettered access to that data or otherwise abuses that access."

The majority of drones used by American companies come from DJI, which is headquartered in Shenzhen, China. DJI shot back at the DHS, and said that "the security of our technology has been independently verified by the U.S. government and by leading U.S. businesses." DJI also added that for government entities who wish to keep their data secure,"we provide drones that do not transfer data to DJI or via the internet."

In 2017, the U.S. Army banned DJI drones due to fear that they were sharing information on U.S. critical security infrastructure with the Chinese government.

The warning comes as the U.S. put the Chinese Huawei Technologies telecommunications firm and 68 of its affiliates on an export blacklist. Huawei is one of the world's largest smartphone makers, but an executive order signed last week by President Donald Trump claimed that the firm posed "an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States."

The ban effectively prohibits Huawei from doing business with American companies, with Calfornia-based Google's Android operating system being removed from Huawei devices.

China and the U.S. are also currently involved in a trade dispute, with both countries pledging to raise tariffs.