Simon Barnes, Business Development Manager – Airports EMEA at Genetec commented on the news that Police believe a current or former employee was behind the Gatwick drone incident on December 19th, 2018:
“Today’s drone-related suspension of flights at Dublin airport, and the news that an insider threat was maybe responsible for the chaos that ensued at Gatwick just before Christmas shows the range of threats the industry now has to navigate. We know from speaking to airports across the world that two of the most pressing challenges they face is how they secure their perimeters (as intruders become increasingly sophisticated) and identifying ‘Friend from Foe’ as operational needs must be maintained.”
Technology to address drone detection
“When it specifically comes to drone detection, the short-term temptation can be to introduce a dedicated new technology to address this specific threat. However, the last thing a functioning airport needs is an independent system that isn’t unified with all of the other security measures in place such as PIDs, security cameras and access control."
“Only when the data from all of these inputs is visualised in one place can an airport begin to make sense of its environment and enable a fast and efficient response to evolving challenges such as the insider threat and malicious drone activities. We fully expect airports to respond to this changing landscape, to help ensure a more comprehensive response.”
