Drones & Hacking: The Cyber Threat Landing on Your Roof

By: Teddy Nedelcu | WBN News Vancouver | June 26, 2025

Are You Watching?

Surveillance cameras guard every doorway, loading bay, and parking stall, yet few point upward. That oversight creates a silent landing pad for drones equipped with compact computers and high-gain antennas. Once settled, the aircraft becomes an invisible bridge between your internal network and an attacker across the street.

The Blind Spot Above

Rooftops rarely receive the same camera coverage as ground-level assets. A folding quadcopter can land at dawn, tuck behind an HVAC stack, and orient its antennas toward the nearest corporate access point while its motors cool to radio-silent mode.

Real-World Proof

In October 2022 investigators at an East Coast investment firm discovered two hacked drones on their roof; each carried a Raspberry Pi, batteries, and directional Wi-Fi adapters that harvested credentials for forty-eight hours before anyone looked up. The Register

AI Drones off the Shelf

DJI's Matrice 4, released in May 2025, carries a compact computer that can run AI code mid‑flight. A complete kit costs about CA$9,000 which is well within reach for a determined red‑team.

Hacking on a budget?

A $60 ESP32 or Raspberry Pi Zero, a power bank, and 3D-printed landing gear turn any hobby frame into an airborne relay node. Guides like Bishop Fox's Drop Pi walk users through deauthentication storms and rogue access point cloning in minutes. Bishop Fox

Free TeddyTechTip on Securing Your Business

Start simple: Add weather‑rated cameras on the roof and integrate them with your existing video system. Schedule quarterly RF scans to spot unfamiliar signals.
On the network side, isolate guest Wi‑Fi, enforce certificate‑based logins, and rotate credentials regularly. None of these moves is expensive, but together they close the easiest gaps.

Drones remove much of the cost and danger that once kept hackers at arm's length. Let TeddyTech stress-test your vertical perimeter before someone else does.

Lucian Nedelcu (Teddy), IT consultant
📧 teddyn@teddytech.net
📱 Signal (secure): @teddy.59
🔗 Linkedin: teddynedelcu

TAGS: #Drones #Cybersecurity #Red Team #Hacking #TeddyTech #Teddy #IoT Security