Parrot has used the launch of its new Anafi USA commercial drone to criticize the data security practices of its main rival DJI, which makes popular drones like the DJI Mavic Air 2.
The French drone maker has worked with the US Army to develop the Parrot Anafi USA, which is an expensive commercial drone designed primarily for first responders, firefighters, search and rescue teams, and agencies of security.
And while Anafi USA is technologically interesting, the sturdy drone boasts a 32x optical zoom and FLIR thermal camera, it was not the main headline in a release that gave equal emphasis to criticizing its main rival, Chinese drone maker DJI.
Speaking about Parrot drones in general, Henri Seydoux (CEO of Parrot Drones) emphasized that all of their products are GDPR compliant, meaning that “no data is sent without user consent anywhere, to no server anywhere ” He added: “The data is yours. And we fully follow the rules. Even more importantly, Parrot is the technology company that writes the drone software.”
This is where the launch got really interesting as Henri Seydoux went from digging up his rival to calling DJI specifically for not only lacking equivalent data security, but also for suppressing data leaks and even changing leak methods. of data once it has been detected.
“Our software is available for any questions, for any customer who asks us questions about the software’s functionalities. All the functionalities of the software are described and documented and can be shown to the user,” he said. I don’t think that is the case with DJI drones. It is highly questionable how much or exactly what DJI drone software does. “This was also just the beginning of the criticism.
Shots
Henri Seydoux then described how, on May 12, cybersecurity specialist River Loop Security reported a major data leak to Mobtech, a Chinese data intelligence platform. According to Seydoux, “With DJI Go version 4.3.26, DJI quietly removed the use of Mobtech detected by River Loop Security.”
Finally, Henri Seydoux stated that “there are other examples of DJI changes in data leakage methods as soon as they have been detected.”
These are quite important claims by Parrot about DJI, which was recently burned by the decision by the United States Department of the Interior to land its entire drone fleet for national security reasons.
We asked DJI for comments and a spokesperson told us: “DJI takes the security of our products and the protection of customer data very seriously. We have reviewed the River Loop public analysis of the DJI Mimo application, which consumers use to control our Osmo handheld camera products optimized for sharing on social networks. “
“We found this report to be inaccurate, outdated and sensational in that it provides no evidence that vulnerabilities or erroneous data practices exist,” added the DJI spokesperson. “Our in-house product security team is confident in its security profile, especially given its intended use to enable the recording and sharing of consumer videos on social media,” the spokesperson said.
All-weather power
While DJI has naturally defended its data security practices against Parrot’s criticism, it is unlikely to be the end of the dispute between the drone giants, particularly since Parrot is now working closely with the US Army. USA
In a way, it’s a shame Parrot has focused more on shooting its main rival than on its new Anafi USA drone at launch, which has some very cool features we’d like to see on its flying consumer cameras.
These include a 32x optical zoom system, which is designed around two 21MP cameras and apparently allows you to see details from up to 5 km (or 3.1 miles) away. The Anafi USA is also waterproof and dustproof, which means it is suitable for flying in rainy conditions, like the PowerEgg X.
However, priced at $ 7,000 / £ 6,500 (around AU $ 10,500), Anafi USA is definitely not a consumer drone, so we hope to see some diluted versions of those features appear in a cheaper version that could Acquiring the likes of the DJI Mavic 2 Pro. Until then, we may well see the fights between drone makers taking the form of verbal takedowns rather than product clashes.
