Researchers at Florida International University (FIU) have developed a new system to defend drones from cyberattacks, aiming to address growing security concerns as drone use expands across various industries.
The technology, named SHIELD, is designed to monitor the entire control system of a drone and detect subtle signs of malicious activity. Unlike traditional defense methods that primarily focus on sensors—which can be manipulated by techniques such as GPS spoofing—SHIELD identifies attacks targeting both hardware and software components. When an attack is detected, the system determines its type and initiates a recovery process tailored to that specific threat.
“Without robust recovery mechanisms, a drone cannot complete its mission under attacks, because even if it is possible to detect the attacks, the mission often gets terminated as a fail-safe move,” said Mohammad Ashiqur Rahman, lead researcher and associate professor in FIU’s Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences. “What’s important about our framework is that it helps the system recover, so the mission can be completed.”
Muneeba Asif, a Ph.D. candidate in Rahman’s research group and study author, explained the need for comprehensive monitoring: “This is why a detection and recovery system that only takes into account the sensors misses the bigger picture. It will be blind to other attacks that happen across the system and at different levels.”
The research team includes FIU students Jean Tonday Rodriguez and Mohammad Kumail Kazmi. Their approach uses artificial intelligence models trained through lab simulations to identify abnormal patterns in sensor data as well as physical indicators like battery surges or overworked processors—potential signs of an ongoing attack. Each detected threat triggers a specific recovery protocol.
In laboratory testing using hardware-in-the-loop simulations, SHIELD demonstrated rapid response times: average detection occurred in 0.21 seconds with recovery following in 0.36 seconds.
The findings were presented at the IEEE/IFIP International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks.
Looking ahead, Rahman’s group plans further testing for real-world deployment of SHIELD. The researchers stress that securing drones is increasingly vital given proposals from regulatory agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to broaden commercial drone applications—including package delivery services and agricultural monitoring—which could increase exposure to cyber threats.
“Reliable and secure drones are the key to unlocking future advancements,” Rahman said. “It’s our hope this work can play a role in moving the industry forward.”
