Drones
Explainable AI Based Diagnosis of Poisoning Attacks in Evolutionary Swarms
Asadi, Mehrdad, Rădulescu, Roxana, Nowé, Ann
Swarming systems, such as for example multi-drone networks, excel at cooperative tasks like monitoring, surveillance, or disaster assistance in critical environments, where autonomous agents make decentralized decisions in order to fulfill team-level objectives in a robust and efficient manner. Unfortunately, team-level coordinated strategies in the wild are vulnerable to data poisoning attacks, resulting in either inaccurate coordination or adversarial behavior among the agents. To address this challenge, we contribute a framework that investigates the effects of such data poisoning attacks, using explainable AI methods. We model the interaction among agents using evolutionary intelligence, where an optimal coalition strategically emerges to perform coordinated tasks. Then, through a rigorous evaluation, the swarm model is systematically poisoned using data manipulation attacks. We showcase the applicability of explainable AI methods to quantify the effects of poisoning on the team strategy and extract footprint characterizations that enable diagnosing. Our findings indicate that when the model is poisoned above 10%, non-optimal strategies resulting in inefficient cooperation can be identified.
MARS: Defending Unmanned Aerial Vehicles From Attacks on Inertial Sensors with Model-based Anomaly Detection and Recovery
Meng, Haocheng, Luo, Shaocheng, Liang, Zhenyuan, Huang, Qing, Khazraei, Amir, Pajic, Miroslav
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) rely on measurements from Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) to maintain stable flight. However, IMUs are susceptible to physical attacks, including acoustic resonant and electromagnetic interference attacks, resulting in immediate UAV crashes. Consequently, we introduce a Model-based Anomaly detection and Recovery System (MARS) that enables UAVs to quickly detect adversarial attacks on inertial sensors and achieve dynamic flight recovery. MARS features an attack-resilient state estimator based on the Extended Kalman Filter, which incorporates position, velocity, heading, and rotor speed measurements to reconstruct accurate attitude and angular velocity information for UAV control. Moreover, a statistical anomaly detection system monitors IMU sensor data, raising a system-level alert if an attack is detected. Upon receiving the alert, a multi-stage dynamic flight recovery strategy suspends the ongoing mission, stabilizes the drone in a hovering condition, and then resumes tasks under the resilient control. Experimental results in PX4 software-in-the-loop environments as well as real-world MARS-PX4 autopilot-equipped drones demonstrate the superiority of our approach over existing IMU-defense frameworks, showcasing the ability of the UAVs to survive attacks and complete the missions.
Putin expresses 'hope' that nuclear weapons will not be needed in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that there has so far been no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, expressing "hope" that they will not be required. Putin said his country had enough "strength and means" to bring the three-year war, sparked by Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, to a "logical conclusion with the outcome Russia requires". His comments were part of a documentary marking his quarter century in power by state television channel Rossiya 1 that was released on Sunday. Responding to a question from journalist Pavel Zarubin about the Russian response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory, Putin said: "There has been no need to use those [nuclear] weapons … and I hope they will not be required." His comments came ahead of his unilaterally declared three-day ceasefire over May 8-10 to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany in World War II, an initiative that he claimed would test Kyiv's readiness for long-term peace.
Sudan's RSF carries out drone attack near Port Sudan airport: Army
Sudan's army says the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked a military airbase and other facilities in the vicinity of Port Sudan airport. The army said on Sunday that the airbase was targeted using a drone, as well as a cargo warehouse and some civilian facilities, in the first attack in the eastern city by the RSF. There are reports of some damage after drones hit an ammunition depot. "Both the civilian and military airports are in the same place. What we know from residents in the port city is that five drones were launched by the RSF and targeted the airbase," Al Jazeera's Hiba Morgan said, reporting from the capital, Khartoum.
Zelenskyy says won't play Putin's 'games' with short truce
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Vladimir Putin of "playing games" after the Russian leader proposed a three-day unilateral ceasefire to coincide with Moscow's Victory Day commemorations. "This is more of a theatrical performance on his part. Because in two or three days, it is impossible to develop a plan for the next steps to end the war," Zelenskyy told a small group of journalists on Friday, in remarks embargoed until Saturday. Russia announced a 72-hour halt in hostilities beginning May 8, but has so far rejected an unconditional 30-day ceasefire pushed by Ukraine and the United States, which is trying to broker an end to the three-year war. Zelenskyy said Ukraine would not be "playing games to create a pleasant atmosphere to allow for Putin's exit from isolation on May 9" when some foreign leaders are due in Moscow for Russia's World War II commemorations.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,164
More than 20 people were injured after Russian strikes hit the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian regional authorities said four people were also injured in a Russian joint drone and artillery attack on localities east of Nikopol city in southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region. Russia's Ministry of Defence reports that its air defence units destroyed 10 Ukrainian drones in an hour. Eight of the drones were intercepted over the border region of Bryansk and two over Russian-annexed Crimea. Yury Slyusar, acting governor of Russia's Rostov region, located on Ukraine's eastern border, said Russian air defence units destroyed Ukrainian drones over five districts.
Drones hit 'Freedom Flotilla' Gaza aid ship in international waters
A ship carrying aid to Gaza in a bid to break Israel's blockade has been hit by drones in international waters off Malta, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the group that organised the mission. The FFC said in a statement on Friday that the vessel, now located 14 nautical miles (25km) from Malta, was the target of two drone strikes while on its way to Gaza. The ship had been seeking to deliver aid to the besieged enclave, where aid groups warn people are struggling to survive following a two-month total blockade by Israel. "Armed drones attacked the front of an unarmed civilian vessel twice, causing a fire and a substantial breach in the hull," the group said. The statement did not directly accuse Israel of carrying out the attack.
Gaza activist ship 'attacked by drones' off coast of Malta, NGO says
The NGO appeared to accuse Israel of being behind the incident and called for Israeli ambassadors to be summoned to answer for "violation of international law, including the ongoing blockade and the bombing of our civilian vessel". The Israeli military said it was looking into reports of the attack. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition uploaded a video showing a fire on one of its ships but did not indicate whether anyone had been hurt. It said the attack appeared to have targeted the generator, which left the ship without power and at risk of sinking. The ship was 17 nautical miles (31.5 kilometres) east of Malta when it was hit.