Look up: The new frontier of cyberthreats is in the sky

In November 2024, a series of unidentified drones appeared over New Jersey. This wasn’t the stuff of UFO enthusiasts or conspiracy theorists. The drones were real, and reported by citizens, law enforcement officers and members of the U.S. military. Within a few weeks, sightings spread into New England, New York and Pennsylvania. Drones started to appear in restricted military airspace. The military said it wasn’t operating the drones but that they didn’t pose a threat. In late January 2025, the White House sent a similar message, noting that the New Jersey drones were “authorized to be flown by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for research and various other reasons.” Still, concerns over drones remain; so much so that the chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) told lawmakers in February that the Pentagon needed more resources to deal with drones flying over U.S. military installations. “The primary threat I see for them in the way they’ve been operating is detection and perhaps surveillance of sensitive capabilities on our installations,” NORAD chief Gen. Gregory Guillot said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. So, there are enough unidentified and suspicious drones that people with real power to make decisions are paying close attention to them. The issue is also global. In January, the German cabinet approved a plan to shoot down drones that flew over their military installations. There is reason to worry given the example of a...