K
Kathleen Martin
Guest
With Cyber Security Month several weeks behind us, it can be easy to lose sight of the lessons learned from these efforts—somewhat like how our New Year’s Resolutions get a bit fuzzy come March. But security is a key component to our industry’s success. It impacts public perception and trust, government contracts, data integrity, national security, and so much more. Incidents that lead to critical breaches in our data can cast a shadow over whether drones are a technology that can be trusted to be utilized commercially whether that is to capture data of critical infrastructure, participate in public safety and emergency services, or provide surveillance of our assets. At an end-user level, it can lead to questions as to whether they can be trusted with personal data. This is why security is an ongoing topic that needs to be discussed often and kept in the news throughout the year—to remind each other not to lose sight of this critical aspect.
To drive home just how important cyber security is for our industry, Commercial UAV News spoke with Jeff Horne, Skydio’s new Head of Security, to talk about his new position with the company, what security culture is and why it is important, the impact security has on trust, how governments are looking and thinking about security, and more.
Danielle Gagne: What led you to join Skydio as their new Head of Security?
Jeff Horne: I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have worked on several interesting projects with great teams. I’ve previously worked on securing autonomous vehicles and I’m also an avid FPV drone enthusiast. When I heard that Skydio was looking for a head of security I was immediately interested. Security is a paramount concern in the drone industry that is often the deciding factor in which drones customers can use to meet their needs- an exciting chance for a security professional to be mission-critical to the company’s success. As small camera drones have expanded in scope from being consumer toys to critical tools for national security, we're seeing a shift in the market from manual drones made by companies based in China to AI-enabled autonomous drones made in the United States.
Skydio is leading that charge, and I knew I wanted to work for a company that had a great, easy-to-use product that could help keep people safe and make their work more efficient. From my very first meeting with Skydio it was evident that the team also had something else that means a lot to me—passion. Along with being highly skilled and technical, the teams are passionate about their work, dedicated to making the products better and committed to truly helping our customers unlock the promise of autonomous drones.
Continue reading: https://www.commercialuavnews.com/security/why-security-is-an-integral-element-in-the-drone-industry-interview-with-jeff-horne
To drive home just how important cyber security is for our industry, Commercial UAV News spoke with Jeff Horne, Skydio’s new Head of Security, to talk about his new position with the company, what security culture is and why it is important, the impact security has on trust, how governments are looking and thinking about security, and more.
Danielle Gagne: What led you to join Skydio as their new Head of Security?
Jeff Horne: I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have worked on several interesting projects with great teams. I’ve previously worked on securing autonomous vehicles and I’m also an avid FPV drone enthusiast. When I heard that Skydio was looking for a head of security I was immediately interested. Security is a paramount concern in the drone industry that is often the deciding factor in which drones customers can use to meet their needs- an exciting chance for a security professional to be mission-critical to the company’s success. As small camera drones have expanded in scope from being consumer toys to critical tools for national security, we're seeing a shift in the market from manual drones made by companies based in China to AI-enabled autonomous drones made in the United States.
Skydio is leading that charge, and I knew I wanted to work for a company that had a great, easy-to-use product that could help keep people safe and make their work more efficient. From my very first meeting with Skydio it was evident that the team also had something else that means a lot to me—passion. Along with being highly skilled and technical, the teams are passionate about their work, dedicated to making the products better and committed to truly helping our customers unlock the promise of autonomous drones.
Continue reading: https://www.commercialuavnews.com/security/why-security-is-an-integral-element-in-the-drone-industry-interview-with-jeff-horne
