A Rising Threat: Using Drones to Conduct Corporate Espionage
U.S. officials identified a disturbing trend in 2023—unauthorized uncrewed aerial systems, also known as drones, were flying over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.
The tactic continued through 2024, with six instances of drones entering the airspace around Marine Corps base Camp Pendleton in California, CNN reported. Drones were also observed flying near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey; Naval Weapons Station Earle, New Jersey; and Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
What were the drones being used for? No one has a conclusive answer, but Glen VanHerck, former joint commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, said in a March 2025 interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes that there could be a foreign threat nexus.
“They could be doing anything, from surveilling critical infrastructure, just to the point of embarrassing us from the fact that they can do this on a day-to-day basis and then we’re not able to do anything about it,” VanHerck said.
The finite ability to counter drones is not limited to the military. Private companies are also challenged when it comes to detecting and disrupting drone activity near their facilities, which could be exposing them to an increased risk of corporate espionage, according to security firm Global Guardian’s Worldwide Threat Assessment that was released this week.
The assessment found that private organizations are “highly vulnerable to drone-assisted espionage” because countermeasures for drones continue to lag. In the United States in particular, legal limitations inhibit the actions that the private sector can take to disrupt or disable a drone used by a malicious actor.
“Bad actors can use aerial systems not only to conduct direct surveillance of residential, commercial, or industrial sites, but also to coerce decision-makers through intimidation by surveillance,” according to the assessment. “In addition, drones can be used for infiltration, using ‘nearest neighbor’ cyberattacks, where physical proximity to a digital network can be exploited to attack weak points in a firm’s cyber defenses.”
“Organizations are highly vulnerable to drone-assisted espionage as drone countermeasures continue to lag novel implementations of unmanned aerial systems (UAS),” the assessment said. “To prevent both state and non-state actors from compromising decision-making, assets, and intellectual property (IP), companies must implement counterintelligence and detection measures while carefully navigating the compliance risk of an anachronistic regulatory space.”
To better understand the drone threat landscape, Security Management connected with Joe Chafetz, intelligence analyst at Global Guardian who led the research and writing of the drone section of the assessment. The comments below have been lightly edited for clarity.
Security Management (SM). Was there a particular drone incident in 2024 that stood out to you as, for lack of a better term, a game changer in the threats that drones pose?
Joe Chafetz. Not an instance of corporate espionage per se, but the media attention given to the drone flyovers of New Jersey and the lack of a satisfactory resolution to that story highlighted the difficulty in identifying, let alone stopping actors using drones.
SM. We’ve been hearing for some time that commercial drones can pose a physical security threat. But drone-assisted espionage is a new trend on the horizon. How might a bad actor use a drone to conduct espionage?
Chafetz. The ways a bad actor could use a drone for espionage are quite varied. We’ve seen instances where drones are used for physically surveilling individuals—to intimidate or to gather intelligence by peering through open windows.
Beyond traditional surveillance, drones can also play a role in more sophisticated operations. For example, as we detail in the Worldwide Threat Assessment, drones were used to acquire credentials from a remote employee and then transport those credentials using a Wi-Fi penetration tool to enable unauthorized network access. This highlights how drones can be used for infiltration, exploiting physical proximity to a digital network to attack weak points in a firm’s cyber defenses.
So, the applications are constantly evolving, and it’s not just about simple observation anymore.
SM. Besides attacks leveraging legitimate credentials, what other types of attacks could the nearest neighbor hack method be used for?
Chafetz. Any attack where a network has a proximity-based vulnerability. This does not necessarily rely on taking credentials. Firms whose networks have more Internet of Things (IoT) items connected to them are more vulnerable. The office fridge typically does not have the same security as employee computers and phones.
SM. The threat assessment mentions the close state ties that top commercial drone manufacturers—such as DJI—have. What threat does this pose to the U.S. private sector?
Chafetz. It’s important for U.S. companies to be aware of the potential risks associated with certain drone manufacturers. As we discuss in the assessment, Chinese drone companies—including DJI—have close state ties and dominate the commercial UAS space. DJI alone controls a large share of the U.S. and global drone market.
This is significant because the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) employs a strategy called "military-civil fusion" (MCF). Under MCF, the CCP is systematically reorganizing Chinese industry to ensure that new innovations simultaneously advance both economic and military development. This means that technologies developed for civilian applications, like those used in drone light shows which rely on the same network of enterprises and engineers developing military drone swarms for the People’s Liberation Army can easily be adapted for military or espionage purposes.
This level of state influence and the dual-use nature of the technology raise concerns, particularly when considering security vulnerabilities.
SM. In the United States, private sector organizations typically have to alert law enforcement when they identify a drone threat. What action—to your knowledge—does law enforcement typically take after being alerted?
Chafetz. When a drone threat is identified, private sector organizations generally rely on law enforcement to take action. While the private sector is increasingly vulnerable to drone-assisted espionage, drone countermeasures continue to lag behind novel implementations of UAS.
Even advanced militaries and law enforcement still cannot reliably counter drones, and at this stage it is nearly impossible for private citizens or companies to counter the threat posed by drones legally. This is a key challenge. Law enforcement is able to take down drones through the use of limited electronic warfare capabilities, including jamming. But police departments often have to resort to low-tech solutions themselves, including ramming with other drones or the use of nets.
SM. Do you see any movement in the U.S. Congress to address the legal barriers that exist to expanding interception measures for commercial drones?
Chafetz. Not in the current political climate.
SM. What are measures that private organizations should consider to mitigate the threat of drones being used to carry out corporate espionage?
Chafetz. To effectively mitigate the threat of drones in corporate espionage, private organizations need to adopt a comprehensive approach.
As we emphasize in the assessment, drones act as a "force multiplier," enhancing the exploitation of various threat vectors, including site surveillance, intimidation, and cyberattacks. Therefore, it’s crucial to implement enhanced defenses across all potential attack vectors. This includes counterintelligence and detection measures. It’s also crucial to coordinate these defenses to address the mobility of drones.
Ultimately, companies must be proactive and imaginative in their threat assessment, developing robust solutions that can adapt to evolving drone technologies and tactics.
For more on drone threats and countermeasures, read our Focus on Uncrewed Aerial Systems series.
