Supply-Chain Risk in UAS: Hardware, Firmware, and Cloud Dependencies

Why supply chain matters

UAS are composite systems. Airframes and payloads from one vendor, firmware from another, controllers and apps maintained independently, and cloud services that sync logs, maps, and media. Each link adds exposure. The EU and UK have increased focus on supply-chain cyber risk and secure-by-default operations. enisa.europa.eu+1

Typical weak points

• Unsigned or weakly verified firmware paths that allow rollback or sideload.

• Third-party mobile SDK integrations with permissive scopes.

• Cloud sync defaults that export mission data beyond your jurisdiction.

• Opaque telemetry routing in vendor apps and services.

Evidence-based vendor due diligence

• Review independent security white papers and audit summaries. DJI publishes a recurring white paper and links to audits and privacy controls. Validate, then layer your own controls. DJI Official+1

• Map cloud data flows, retention, and lawful access risk.

• Test against SORA cyber objectives and CAA certification guidance. caa.co.uk+1

• Align to your enterprise cyber governance code and threat intel baselines. GOV.UK

Controls that reduce supply-chain exposure

1. Independent keying and trust anchors
   Use your own keys for mission signing and decryption even when flying commercial platforms.

2. Deny-by-default SDK wrapper
   Only permit calls required for the mission. Log blocked calls.

3. Encrypted, operator-owned telemetry
   Ensure all sensor streams and flight logs are encrypted to your keys in transit and at rest.

4. Clean-cloud or air-gapped mode
   Keep data residency and sovereignty under your control.

5. Immutable audit trails
   Provide regulator-ready evidence for approvals, incident response, and chain-of-custody.

Where AeroGuard fits

AeroGuard adds an independent enforcement plane over vendor SDKs: policy-bound command validation, telemetry encryption, runtime integrity checks, and a complete audit trail. This reduces dependency on any single vendor’s security posture and provides the compliance artefacts auditors now expect.

→ See the AeroGuard project entry.

Programmatic rollout plan

• Baseline an inventory of airframes, payloads, firmware, pilot apps, and cloud services.

• Threat-model each link and assign mitigations and owners.

• Insert AeroGuard between the pilot app and SDK.

• Define mission policy templates tied to sites and authorities.

• Run red-team exercises to validate denial paths and logging.

References: ENISA threat landscape; CAA cyber certification; NCSC guidance. enisa.europa.eu+2caa.co.uk+2