Jerry Petersen
Kip Gering, the chief revenue officer of software company SpiderOak, recently spoke with Commercial UAV News about how his company’s access governance and secure data exchange platform can benefit drone builders.
Drone Operations Amid Degraded Communications
During his interview with the publication, Gering predicted that drones would increasingly be targeted by malicious actors using jamming signals, resulting in “a real need to operate when those communications are being denied or degraded, or just when you’re dealing with low bandwidth.”
For Gering, these conditions make the SpiderOak platform a “very attractive” option for makers of systems that have to operate in austere environments because of the decentralized or peer-to-peer nature of its data exchange capability.
The platform works to facilitate “secure peer-to-peer data exchange, guaranteeing data delivery between endpoints” without the use of a central IT infrastructure, according to the company’s website.
Ensuring Secure Messaging
Gering further touted the SpiderOak platform’s ability to automate the creation and implementation of capabilities that ensure secure messaging, from mission payload delivery to command function transmission. The chief revenue officer explained that incorporating such cybersecurity measures from the beginning “is essential for drone solutions because most depend on network or data link encryption and shared credentials” and that “[it’s] always best to practice cyber safe engineering to ensure it’s part of your overall system development process and product lifecycle.”
Need for Vigilance
“It’s also important for technology providers to stay abreast of vulnerabilities and attack techniques and tactics against the types of system you offer,” Gering further said, adding, “That kind of vigilance is important, because the threat and attack techniques are always evolving.”
