Abstract

With the increasing popularity of small-scale consumer drones, significant privacy and security concerns have emerged. This research examines various drones, including those exempts from FAA registration and those requiring registration and Remote ID. Despite technological advancements that have made drones more accessible, our study reveals critical security flaws that can be exploited by hackers and malicious actors, posing substantial risks to personal privacy and public safety. Through simulated attacks, we identified and exploited vulnerabilities, gaining unauthorized access to sensitive flight data, images, and videos captured by these drones. These findings highlight the alarming ease with which current consumer drones can be manipulated to invade privacy, steal sensitive information, or disrupt operations. The risks posed by these flaws extend beyond individual users, affecting public spaces and critical infrastructure. Our research also focuses on developing reliable methodologies for enhancing drone security and performing forensic analysis. By exploring advanced techniques, we aim to improve the identification and mitigation of vulnerabilities, ensuring that drones can be made safer for consumers. This study underscores the urgent need for stronger security measures and reliable forensic methods to protect against these threats, emphasizing the importance of implementing robust safeguards as the use of consumer drones continues to grow.

About the Speaker

Dr. Sneha Sudhakaran is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Florida Institute of Technology, specializing in cyber forensics with a focus on mobile device forensics. She earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Louisiana State University, where she developed Android mobile forensic tools such as DroidScraper and AmpleDroid, aimed at recovering forensic evidence from Android application memory. Her research contributions extend to SCADA forensics and image forensics, with her work published in leading conferences. Dr. Sudhakaran is the founder of the Women in Cyber Security (WiCyS) chapter at Florida Institute of Technology and actively contributes to Women in Cyber Security Global, IEEE, the American Association for Forensic Sciences, and the International Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security (ICCWS). She serves as a reviewer for esteemed journals, including Elsevier, Computers & Security (COSE), Digital Investigation, and SIGCSE, and is a committee member for conferences such as ICCWS and PAINE. In addition to her academic roles, Dr. Sudhakaran is an item writer for the Computer Hacking and Forensic Investigation course offered by EC-Council and serves on the Board of Studies at Amrita University, contributing to curriculum development in Cyber Security. She holds a master's degree in cyber security (2013) and has previously worked as an Assistant Professor at Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India. Her research interests include memory forensics, drone security and forensics, application security, Android reverse engineering, and the behavioral study of students pursuing computer science degrees. Dr. Sudhakaran’s extensive contributions and active involvement in the field underscore her commitment to advancing cybersecurity education and research.