Technology

Secret Service Testing Drones, How to Disrupt Their Flying

Published

12 years ago

March 10, 2015

In this Jan. 26, 2015 file photo, Secret Service officers search the south grounds of the White House in Washington after an unmanned aerial drone was found on the White House grounds during the middle of the night. Mysterious, middle-of-the-night drone flights by the U.S. Secret Service during the next several weeks over parts of Washington are part of secret government testing intended to find ways to interfere with rogue drones or knock them out of the sky. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

ALICIA A. CALDWELL, Associated Press
JOSH LEDERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Secret Service is conducting middle-of-the-night drone flights near the White House in secret tests to devise a defense against the unmanned aircraft, The Associated Press has learned.

The government-controlled drones will be flown between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. during the next several weeks over parts of Washington —airspace that’s usually off limits as a no-fly zone, according to a U.S. official briefed on the plans.

The official said the Secret Service is testing drones both for its own use in law enforcement and protection, and to identify how to defend against hostile drones. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because this person was not authorized to publicly discuss the plans. The Secret Service has said details are classified.

Among the tests is the use of signal-jamming technology to thwart control of a remotely piloted aircraft, the official said.

Researchers at the Homeland Security Department, which oversees the Secret Service, have been testing methods to combat drones at remote sites. But testing in a real-world environment around the White House will help understanding of how radio waves are affected by buildings, monuments and even tall trees.

The challenge for the Secret Service is how to quickly detect a rogue drone flying near the White House or another location where the president is, then within moments either hacking its guidance mechanism to seize control, or jamming its signal to send it off course or make it crash.

Some consumer-level drones, which commonly carry video cameras, have enough lifting power to carry small amounts of explosives.

The Secret Service has said only that it will openly test drones over Washington, but it has declined to provide details such as when it will fly, how many drones, over what parts of the city, for how long and for what purposes. It decided to tell the public in advance about the tests out of concern that people who saw the drones might be alarmed, particularly in the wake of the drones spotted recently over Paris at night. Flying overnight also diminishes the chances that radio jamming would accidentally affect nearby businesses, drivers, pedestrians and tourists.

It is illegal under the U.S. Communications Act to sell or use signal jammers except for narrow purposes by government agencies.

Depending on a drone’s manufacturer and capabilities, its flight-control and video-transmission systems commonly use radio frequencies also common to popular Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies. Jamming by the Secret Service could disrupt nearby Internet networks or phone conversations until it’s turned off.

Signals emanating from an inbound drone — such as coming from a video stream back to its pilot — could allow the Secret Service to detect and track it.

Federal agencies generally need approval to jam signals from a Commerce Department agency, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The agency declined to tell the AP whether the Secret Service sought permission because it said such requests are not routinely made public.

The Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed it formally authorized the Secret Service to fly the drones and granted a waiver to fly them over Washington. The agency declined to provide specifics.

In January, a wayward quadcopter drone piloted by an off-duty U.S. intelligence employee landed on the White House lawn. The Secret Service said the landing appeared to be accidental and not a security threat.

The incident led the agency to focus more attention on drone-related security issues. Published reports have disclosed that the Secret Service already uses jammers in high-level motorcades to disrupt signals that might detonate remotely triggered bombs.

Researchers with DHS’s science and technology directorate working on strategies to interdict an unauthorized drone flying into a secure area are trying to balance security against their burgeoning commercial use and the interests of hobbyists. Likewise, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration said last week it’s studying how the U.S. can resolve privacy risks that come with increasing drone use.

There are basically three ways to stop a drone, said Jeremy Gillula, a staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation: block the radio signals linking the drone to its controller, hack the aircraft’s control signals and trick it into believing it is somewhere else, or physically disable it. Some drone manufacturers program a “geo fence” — location coordinates that their drones treat as off limits, and refuse to fly past — into the drone’s programming. Police also could physically knock a drone out of the air with a projectile or use a net to catch it.

“If it were me, that would actually be the first thing I would think about doing,” Gillula said. “You would have to basically encase the White House in this net. It sure wouldn’t look pretty, but in some ways it would be the most effective way.”

___

Follow Alicia A. Caldwell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/acaldwellap and Josh Lederman at www.twitter.com/joshledermanAP

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AG Bonta Announces Action on Cryptocurrency, Sextortion Fraud – Increasingly Targeting Gen-Z

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is warning residents about a surge in cryptocurrency fraud and online sextortion schemes that increasingly target Gen Z through social media platforms. With internet-based scams costing Americans nearly $21 billion in 2023, Bonta highlighted how artificial intelligence and deepfakes allow criminals to impersonate loved ones and promote fraudulent investment groups. The Attorney General’s Office has already shut down over 100 fraudulent websites and is now utilizing new legislative tools to recover assets for victims. Read more.

Published

1 week ago

November 3, 2026

Post News Group

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned residents about rising cryptocurrency fraud and online sextortion scams, urging Californians to recognize warning signs and protect themselves as scammers increasingly target younger people through social media.

Speaking at a news conference on Oct. 19, Bonta said Americans lost $20.9 billion to internet-based scams in 2025, including $11.4 billion to cryptocurrency scams. He said artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and malicious smart contracts have made fraud easier to carry out and more difficult to detect and prevent.

While older Californians remain targets, Bonta said his office has seen a sharp rise in reports of Gen Z consumers being targeted on platforms such as Twitch, TikTok, and Instagram.

One growing scheme involves so-called rug-pull scams, in which fraudsters promote low-priced stocks or volatile cryptocurrencies through online investment groups and streaming communities. After generating interest and driving up prices, scammers sell their holdings, causing values to collapse and leaving investors with losses.

Bonta also warned about sextortion, in which scammers trick or coerce victims into sharing explicit images before threatening to distribute them to friends and family unless they pay. He advised victims not to give in to demands, saying scammers often do not release the images when victims refuse to pay. Instead, he recommended ignoring and blocking the perpetrators.

Another scheme, known as recovery fraud, targets people who have already lost money to cryptocurrency scams. Fraudsters impersonate blockchain recovery specialists or law enforcement officials and demand additional payments while promising to recover stolen assets.

Bonta urged Californians to be skeptical of promises of large returns on small investments, fake cryptocurrencies resembling established ones, and celebrity endorsements that may have been generated using artificial intelligence. He also warned that scammers can use AI to impersonate loved ones through manipulated video and audio.

“Never use a crypto ATM,” Bonta said, emphasizing that transactions can be difficult to trace and reverse and that the machines lack adequate consumer protections.

His office has shut down more than 100 fraudulent websites over the past two years that collectively scammed victims out of at least $8.3 million, he said.

Bonta also highlighted Senate Bill 1208, which he said was recently signed into law. The measure allows law enforcement to petition a court to return seized cryptocurrency to victims, including when alleged perpetrators are outside U.S. jurisdiction.

Residents who have fallen victim to scams can report them to the California Department of Justice at oag.ca.gov/report.

Bonta also urged victims not to feel embarrassed, stressing that scammers are responsible for the harm they cause.

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Black History

OP-ED: The Black Church Writes AI’s Next Chapter

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — I implore my fellow faith leaders to use these tools. Start now and use them with wisdom. We count on each and every one of you to make sure our communities help write the next chapter of this story. This rapid change is not as unfamiliar as it may sound. My first understanding of AI came from using a calculator for the first time in grade school. We did not call it AI, but it was a tool that helped me work through mathematical equations hours more efficiently.

Published

3 weeks ago

October 18, 2026

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For generations, the Black church has stood strong in our communities through every historical change this country has experienced. During the civil rights movement and in recent times, faith leaders have helped uplift Black sanctuaries to register voters, keep food pantries open for people in need, and sit with families in hospital rooms in their most desperate moments. When our people faced new trials, they could always look to our faith leaders and the church to lean in to help us be included in these transformative changes.

Artificial intelligence is the latest revolutionary change to impact our society, and much like other transformations before us, underserved communities often get left behind.

I was recently featured in a report entitled “Faith, Community & AI” and it found that people send ChatGPT more than 70 million messages a week about religion. Nearly 22 million involve studying sacred texts, and 16 million ask about religious practices and holy days. Our members make up part of those numbers. They bring questions of faith to these tools every day.

Pastors have noticed, and according to a September 2025 Lifeway Research survey of 1,003 Protestant pastors, 42 percent said they use or experiment with AI in ministry. I count myself among them.

I write my sermons by hand, through prayer and study. When I finish a draft, I ask ChatGPT this question: “Where might this sermon become unclear or difficult to follow for someone early in their walk of faith?” It shows me gaps in my preparation, like where I incorrectly assumed everyone would know the context of who the Pharisees were. Then, change comes from my own pen, not the robot. The tool helps me reach the person in the back pew while the message still comes from me.

If I could have my wish, our whole community would take a similar posture. We must use these tools, understand them, and most importantly be present to help shape them if we want to be included in the coming change.

I implore my fellow faith leaders to use these tools. Start now and use them with wisdom. We count on each and every one of you to make sure our communities help write the next chapter of this story. This rapid change is not as unfamiliar as it may sound. My first understanding of AI came from using a calculator for the first time in grade school. We did not call it AI, but it was a tool that helped me work through mathematical equations hours more efficiently.

It starts with training; there is no involvement without understanding. Free AI trainings have begun in our churches and community centers across the nation. Every faith leader should sign up and, when possible, encourage members of your congregations to join you. By learning how to use AI, we can better understand what it can do, make up our own minds about its impact, and have a say in how it shapes our communities.”

Next, we must be at the tables where the builders of these tools make decisions. Presence is the first step toward understanding, and that gap is only bridged through a coordinated effort. How can any tool serve a community well if that community is not part of the conversation? Our traditions, needs, and concerns must be accounted for, and Black faith leaders are already making that happen. OpenAI’s recent Faith report states plainly that AI should never become an arbiter of religious truth. I fully intend to hold the company to its word, and the most effective way I can do that is from inside.

I will close with this––we must diligently protect what only the church can give. A believer in Seoul, Korea quoted in the report warned, “if you pour every struggle into a private chat, your pastor and your friends may never learn you need help.” A chatbot will not sit with a grieving family or pray with you at two in the morning. As we adopt this technology, it is up to us to ensure it keeps people connected to each other and to their church.

Rev. Dr. Adolphus Lacey is senior pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York.

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Black History

OP-ED: The Black Church Writes AI’s Next Chapter

Published

3 weeks ago

October 18, 2026

Post News Group

Artificial intelligence is the latest revolutionary change to impact our society, and much like other transformations before us, underserved communities often get left behind.

Pastors have noticed, and according to a September 2025 Lifeway Research survey of 1,003 Protestant pastors, 42 percent said they use or experiment with AI in ministry. I count myself among them.