Article

2021-11-05 -Lurid Crime Tales-

PA: July 2020 drone crash was attempt against electric grid

[WJLA] A new warning has been issued regarding a potential attack on the electrical grid in the northeast United States. A newly-released intelligence bulletin, obtained by ABC News, reveals a plot involving the use of a drone to disrupt an electrical grid in Pennsylvania in July 2020.

The drone, which crashed atop a building near a Pennsylvania power substation last year, was likely intended to disrupt operations by creating a short circuit to damage transformers, according to the memo from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and the National Counterterrorism Center. The drone had a thick copper wire attached to it.

That isn’t comforting.

The memo was based on a review of drone incidents dating back to 2017.

Thank goodness someone finally decided to look at the data.

A concern is the illicit use of drones over energy infrastructure and other potential targets are growing. Drones are very difficult to detect or even to defend against.

Officials believe it's the first time a drone was used to deliberately damage the U.S. energy structure.

The person responsible removed the camera, memory card, and all markings to hide their identity.

So no hint at all who might have done this? Black Bloc eco nuts or Occupy Wall Street types, jihadis, someone else? Let’s leave the article on Page 3: Non-WoT until more is revealed.

Federal officials tell CNN they are distributing the intelligence bulletin now to "raise awareness about the incident and the general threat of drones to critical infrastructure."

Posted by Bubba Lover of the Faeries8843 2021-11-05 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11142 views ] Top

#1 creating a short circuit to damage transformers

Coordinating a bullet is much less complex.

Posted by Skidmark 2021-11-05 00:19|| 2021-11-05 00:19|| Front Page Top

#2 So sitting on the information for 16 months helps?
90 days I can understand... You didn't want to scare the voters in 2020. So what else are you guys hiding?

Posted by Elmaising Henbane9691 2021-11-05 00:27|| 2021-11-05 00:27|| Front Page Top

#3 All markings? All markings? Bah, everything has a serial number.

Posted by magpie 2021-11-05 01:08|| 2021-11-05 01:08|| Front Page Top

#4 FBI too busy at school board meetings to be bothered.

Posted by Xyz 2021-11-05 03:03|| 2021-11-05 03:03|| Front Page Top

#5 The article links to an ABC News report video that shows the Homeland Security memo (at about 31 seconds in). The incident took place on 16 July 2020, according to the memo, and was published in an intelligence report on 18 August. The drone is apparently a Da Jiang Innovations Maverick 2, and looks like a quadcopter of some sort. Could it be a kit?

Posted by trailing wife 2021-11-05 09:13|| 2021-11-05 09:13|| Front Page Top

#6 DJI Mavic 2 frame -- without the camera it's not possible to know if it was sold as a "Pro" or "Zoom". The "Pro" has a better lens and bigger sensor, but no zoom capability. They're not kits; they were the top of their line for "prosumer" drones -- good enough you could start a business with one, but cheap enough for a hobbyist.

It will have a serial number in the firmware, as will the battery. Since DJI has been criticized for how much data the drones send back to them, it should be pretty easy to get more information on it.

Now, it's possible the firmware was hacked, but I haven't looked into what that involves, so I don't know what effects it would have. DJI has been criticized by some consumers for automatically obeying US no-flight zones, but I doubt there are declared no-drone-flight zones over every substation.

Posted by Rob Crawford 2021-11-05 10:52|| 2021-11-05 10:52|| Front Page Top

#7 Meant to say they were their top-of-the-line until the announcement of the Mavic 3, which hasn't been released yet. But rumors about the price of the Mavic 3 might change the segmentation of their line; if it's too expensive it might just be a professional drone with their Mini and Air models targeting the hobbyist market.

Posted by Rob Crawford 2021-11-05 10:55|| 2021-11-05 10:55|| Front Page Top

#8 This sucks. I can think of two ways to defeat drone attacks like this with 20 seconds of thought. What being done?

Posted by Whiskey Mike 2021-11-05 12:38|| 2021-11-05 12:38|| Front Page Top

#9 Well, Remote ID will be required in a few years. Think of it as license plates for drones. Older drones will either have to have added equipment to support it, or will only be allowed to fly in restricted areas.

Posted by Rob Crawford 2021-11-05 13:08|| 2021-11-05 13:08|| Front Page Top

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