Improving communication security of open source UAVs: Encrypting radio control link

Podhradský, Michal; Coopmans, Calvin; Hoffer, Nathan V.

doi:10.1109/icuas.2017.7991460

Cited by 15 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…However, no countermeasures are discussed. The authors in [366] introduce an implementation of an encrypted Radio Control (RC) link that can be used with a number of popular RC transmitters. The proposed design uses Galois Embedded Crypto library together with openLRSng open-source radio project.…”

Section: Security Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): A Survey on Civil Applications and Key Research Challenges

et al. 2019

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The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is growing rapidly across many civil application domains including realtime monitoring, providing wireless coverage, remote sensing, search and rescue, delivery of goods, security and surveillance, precision agriculture, and civil infrastructure inspection. Smart UAVs are the next big revolution in UAV technology promising to provide new opportunities in different applications, especially in civil infrastructure in terms of reduced risks and lower cost. Civil infrastructure is expected to dominate the more that $45 Billion market value of UAV usage. In this survey, we present UAV civil applications and their challenges. We also discuss current research trends and provide future insights for potential UAV uses. Furthermore, we present the key challenges for UAV civil applications, including: charging challenges, collision avoidance and swarming challenges, and networking and security related challenges. Based on our review of the recent literature, we discuss open research challenges and draw high-level insights on how these challenges might be approached.

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Section: Security Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): A Survey on Civil Applications and Key Research Challenges

et al. 2019

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“…In [16], the authors proposed an encrypted radio control link based on Galois Embedded Crypto library with the openLRSng open-source radio project for securing communication links among open source UAV systems. The proposed solution uses the symmetric key produced by a trusted third-party entity and manually hard-coded in the autopilot.…”

Section: A: Confidentiality Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micro Air Vehicle Link (MAVlink) in a Nutshell: A Survey

et al. 2019

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The micro air vehicle link (MAVLink in short) is a communication protocol for unmanned systems (e.g., drones and robots). It specifies a comprehensive set of messages exchanged between unmanned systems and ground stations. This protocol is used in major autopilot systems, mainly ArduPilot and PX4, and provides powerful features not only for monitoring and controlling unmanned systems missions but also for their integration into the Internet. However, there is no technical survey and/or tutorial in the literature that presents these features or explains how to make use of them. Most of the references are online tutorials and basic technical reports, and none of them presents comprehensive and systematic coverage of the protocol. In this paper, we address this gap, and we propose an overview of the MAVLink protocol, the difference between its versions, and it is potential in enabling Internet connectivity to unmanned systems. We also discuss the security aspects of the MAVLink. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first technical survey and tutorial on the MAVLink protocol, which represents an important reference for unmanned systems users and developers. INDEX TERMS MAVLink, ArduPilot, PX4, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Ground Control Stations (GCSs).

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“…Because all of the internet traffic is encrypted with the SSH protocol, which is generally trusted to be secure [31], the overall system is secure. It is even more secure than traditional UAV control methods, which can be spoofed [96], [97] allowing a remote operator to take control of the bird. No such spoofing is believed to be possible with SSH.…”

Section: B Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Safe, Open Source, 4G Connected Self-Flying Plane With 1 Hour Flight Time and All Up Weight (AUW) <300 g: Towards a New Class of Internet Enabled UAVs

Burke¹

2019

IEEE Access

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Here, we present an open-source cloud (4G) connected and controlled self-flying airplane based on a secure, encrypted flight stack with all up weight of <300 g as an example of a new class of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The avionics portion (including the flight controller, 4G cellular data modem, and on-board companion Linux computer) weighs only 40 g, which is about 10 times lighter than previous avionics package achieving the same mission: 4G secure encrypted robust self-healing Internet connectivity for video and telemetry, autonomous flight capability without the need for a pilot in local proximity to the UAV, and GPS positioning. With a flight time of 1 h, this represents the lightest, longest flight time 4G UAV ever demonstrated. Enabled by the convergence of advances in multiple hardware and software systems and disciplines, this effectively defines a new class of the UAVs, distinct from larger multirotors for aerial surveys and photography and smaller nano-quadcopters with short flight times and ranges, defined by the characteristics of inherently stable aerodynamic flight in case of hardware failure (such as motor failure), inherently long flight times, inherently long range due to the efficiency of a wing over quadrotor, and Internet connectivity for control from any point on earth to virtually any point on earth.

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Improving communication security of open source UAVs: Encrypting radio control link

Cited by 15 publications

References 19 publications

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): A Survey on Civil Applications and Key Research Challenges

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): A Survey on Civil Applications and Key Research Challenges

Micro Air Vehicle Link (MAVlink) in a Nutshell: A Survey

A Safe, Open Source, 4G Connected Self-Flying Plane With 1 Hour Flight Time and All Up Weight (AUW) <300 g: Towards a New Class of Internet Enabled UAVs

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