DJI grounded its drones in Iraq and Syria to lock out extremists

The most recognizable name in drones has reportedly stepped in to help the United States in its ongoing war on terror. As The Register reports today, Shenzhen-based DJI -- makers of the ever-popular Phantom and Inspire series quadcopters -- quietly created software-based no-fly zones over large parts of Iraq and Syria where ISIS fighters have been known to strap improvised bombs to commercial drones. The NFZs were first spotted by drone threat analyst Kevin Finisterre of Department 13, who noticed the company had updated its DJI Go piloting and photography app to include a number of geofenced areas in the region. DJI already maintains a large database of NFZs to prevent hobbyists from straying into airport flight paths, military bases, historic sites, sporting arenas and other places where drones are explicitly banned. The new geofenced areas, however, only appeared in late February -- around the same time Finisterre notes that Iraqi troops backed by the US were mounting an offensive in Mosul.