Adelaide University researchers to develop a cybersecurity system designed to protect drones from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
“Today’s drones are used in warfare, for emergency response, infrastructure inspections, agriculture, environmental monitoring, logistics and even medical deliveries,” DST Joint Chair of Sensor Systems, Javaan Chahl, said.
“They collect large amounts of data, process it onboard, and communicate continuously with operators or cloud-based systems. While this makes drones powerful and versatile, it also makes them vulnerable.”
A new study led by the Industrial AI Research Centre and published in the international journal Computers and Industrial Engineering, will hopefully pave the way for safer and more resilient unmanned aerial systems (UAS) that are less vulnerable to hacking, signal disruption and malicious software.
The team has developed a new onboard security architecture based on Software-Defined Wide Area Networking, or SD-WAN, which acts as a smart traffic controller for internet connections.
“Instead of relying on a single link, the drone can use multiple communication pathways at once – such as mobile networks, Wi-Fi or other radio links – and automatically switch between them if one fails or is attacked," Chahl stated.
The researchers have said that many drones still rely on basic communication methods that lack encryption – the digital equivalent of sending sensitive information on an open radio channel.
“A cyber-attack can interfere with flight controls, disrupt communications, expose sensitive data, and even cause a physical accident," PhD candidate and cybersecurity expert, Tom Scully, stated.
This means that attackers could intercept data, inject false commands or overwhelm the drone’s systems.
“Our goal is simple,” Scully highlighted. “As drones become part of everyday life, we need to ensure they are not only smart and autonomous, but also secure, resilient and trustworthy.”
The system will also include a next-generation firewall, which works like an advanced security gate. It will monitor incoming and outgoing data in real time, blocks suspicious activity, and ensure that only authorised communications are allowed.
Importantly, this firewall runs directly on the drone, rather than relying on remote systems.
The research will have the inclusion of malware sandboxing – a technology normally found in large corporate networks – where suspicious files can be opened and examined without risking damage. If malicious behaviour is detected, the system can block it immediately.
The researchers have demonstrated the software on a drone platform, using real-world onboard computing hardware with cloud-based control systems.
The team has plans to conduct future trials to further validate the system in real time, potentially supporting its adoption in commercial, emergency and government drone operations.