More Use of Drones Brings Benefits, Risks, Including Hacking, Says Allianz

A dramatic increase in commercial and recreational drones -- expected to triple in four years -- will create bigger safety risks from collisions, cyberattacks and terrorism, said insurer Allianz in a report released Tuesday. Use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) likely would result in fewer work accidents and worker compensation losses, and speed up insurance claims, it said. But millions more drones in widespread use also could increase risks -- mainly mid-air collisions and loss of control -- resulting in potential multimillion-dollar claims against businesses, operators and manufacturers, Allianz added. Concerns that drones could be used for malicious acts and other "risk scenarios include the prospect of hackers ‘spoofing’ a UAS radio signal, potentially leading to a crash, the potential loss or theft of valuable recorded data when the device is transmitting information to the control station or after the flight by cyber-attack when the data has been stored," the report said. Registering drones and operators, training and educating pilots and using on-board cameras, flight communications and system maintenance are crucial to improving safety, said Allianz. Separately, ABI Research said in a Tuesday news release the small drone commercial market will exceed $30 billion by 2025.