(Credit: PCMag/Jim Fisher)
DJI is hitting back at the US’s foreign-made drone ban by highlighting a newly released independent security audit that finds no major security threat in the Chinese company’s drones.
“This is the most comprehensive independent security assessment ever undertaken on our products. Independent testing found no backdoors, no data leaving the US, and no viable pathways for hijacking or misuse,” the company said in a statement.
DJI hired Florida-based cybersecurity company OnDefend to conduct the audit, which focused on two models: the DJI Air 3S with RC 2 controller and the DJI Matrice 4E with RC Plus 2 Enterprise controller. OnDefend also inspected TikTok’s data security in 2024 and offers penetration testing to help companies ward off hacks.
For the DJI audit, the cybersecurity company bought the drones from a retailer and authorized distributor without notifying DJI. OnDefend's 16-page report flags only 10 “low-risk” findings that DJI plans to address through software updates. “No unexplained radio emissions were identified. All observed RF emissions were traced back to known functions on the drones,” the report says.
(Credit: OnDefend)The audit is one of many security-related inspections that DJI products have undergone over the years. But in this case, the company is touting the OnDefend audit when the Federal Communications Commission is reviewing a DJI petition urging the US regulator to remove its name from the drone ban. The petition process received nearly 3,200 filings, many of them public comments from US customers, who argue that the drone ban will deny consumers, businesses, and emergency responders access to DJI’s cutting-edge, affordable technology.
DJI added the findings “directly challenge the security rationale behind” the US ban on the company’s latest products. "These findings confirm what DJI has consistently maintained: our products are secure, our data practices are transparent, and the concerns underlying our FCC Covered List designation are not supported by technical evidence,” says Adam Welsh, DJI's global policy head.
The FCC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But the audit probably won’t convince the White House, which determined that foreign-made drones pose an unacceptable national security risk and required the FCC to institute the ban.
The FCC’s order signals the Trump administration is more concerned about the potential threat —rather than any present danger—of foreign-made drones one day spying or conducting malicious acts on US territory. The Pentagon is also indicating that both classified and unclassified information led it to conclude foreign-made drones could pose a national security risk.
The FCC’s ban doesn’t specifically call out China. But it’s no secret that the US government has long been concerned that the Chinese government could secretly compel Chinese companies, such as TikTok's developer ByteDance, to commit state espionage through their products. However, DJI has insisted it has no ties to the Chinese military or is controlled by the Chinese government. OnDefend’s audit adds: “No supply chain tampering detected. No unauthorized hardware modifications identified.”
Although DJI can keep selling older drone models in the US, the company has been blocked from selling new products in the country. DJI is also fighting the drone ban in court.