What’s the news: In what might interest many security forces, the Kerala police on September 23 launched the Eagle Eye anti-drone mobile vehicle to hack unauthorized UAVs at the Cocon 2022, reported Mathrubhumi. The system developed by the drone forensics department of the state police will track and hack any drone that has been flying in the state without police permission. According to Manoj Abraham, the Additional Director of Police (ADGP), the anti-drone system detects and neutralizes drones operating without permission within a radius of 5km. He said that since drones are GPS- or remote-controlled using radio frequencies, the same can be intercepted using sensors and radar detection technology. Further, he said that the drone vehicles cost around ₹80 lakh per vehicle while the facility can cost around ₹ 5 crore in foreign countries. https://twitter.com/CyberdomeKerala/status/1573380117623341057 Why it matters: While the police department launched the system this time to prevent drone attacks, the state government in the past has used drones to monitor the populace as well. During Covid-19, the Kerala police deployed drones across several districts to prevent lockdown violations. The videos recorded were stored on police’s mobile phones in regions like Kasargod. The state’s Cyberdome police spearheaded this use of drones then. At the time, MediaNama raised concerns about the drone operator’s access to video footage. As such, while the government’s attempt to curb unauthorized drones is welcome, it is yet to answer the question of who will police the police drones? Kerala wary of drone threats since 2021:…
