4 major issues caused by drones

Do you know anyone with a Drone on their holiday wish list this year? Stories of drones are popping up in media channels with both good news, such as drones that are replanting and restoring forests, and bad news of drones flying too close to emergency officials during the California wildfires.

Drones have the potential to help out many different industries, but as this new technology becomes easier for the everyday citizen to use, it is important that people are aware of the safety and security issues surrounding them.

Here is a look at 4 major issues drones are currently causing:

1. Issues with air safety

A growing number of drones have been flown dangerously close to commercial aircraft, violating federal rules about their operation. And as mentioned above, back in July, a hobby drone flying above a wildfire in California forced officials there to ground fire-fighting aircraft due to safety concerns. According to the FAA, more than 650 pilot have reported seeing unmanned aircraft as of August 9 this year, compared to a total of 238 such sightings for all of 2014.

We will continue to see increased control and regulations of drones flying into air zones as a result of this. The FAA is expected to publish its plans for the “safe integration” of drones into U.S. airspace next month.

2. Flying weapons

In a video published a few months ago, an 18-year old showed a handgun being fired from a flying drone and it quickly went viral. It also brought both federal and state scrutiny to the issue of drones being turned into potential weapons.

Military and police have already been using or considering adding armed drones to their fleets, but these new weapons raise more concerns and questions. After the 18-year old’s use of a handgun on his drone, Connecticut’s state senate was expected to make banning weapons on drones a priority issue.

3. Insurance issues

You’ve got your boat, your 4-wheeler, your car and your motorcycle all on your insurance policy—what about your drone? Drones are also creating new questions for the insurance industry, especially when it comes to property damage and liability. These potential legal issues, combined with the uncertain regulatory atmosphere in the U.S., make insurance underwriting for drone liability a challenging endeavor,

However, companies such as insurance giant AIG (AIG) have already developed specific coverage packages described as being “tailored to the unique needs of individual operators of unmanned aircraft. In most cases, if a drone fell on your house or car, industry experts says a standard homeowner’s policy or optional comprehensive insurance on your car would cover any damages.

4. Crowded skies

Did you ever watch the Star Wars movies and think how crazy it was to see all their space ships, shuttles, robots and drones flying around in a specific planet’s city? These scenes accurately portrayed what a crowded sky would look like. As we said earlier, although drones have a lot of exciting potential to help different industries.

Amazon has announced its “Prime Air,” a delivery system it says will eventually allow the company to “to safely get packages into customers’ hands in 30 minutes or less” using small drones. Before that, DHL Parcel announced the start of regular, autonomous drone flights to a sparsely inhabited German island in the North Sea for scheduled deliveries of medications and “other urgently needed goods” to the local community.

Once we are able to overcome security and safety issues related to drones, they will likely become a popular resource for many businesses improve customer service, maintenance and even capture the news. With all these devices connected and communicating many of our personal and private information, security of IoT is more important than ever. Here are 5 basic tips for implementing IoT security.