Florida International University Unveils SHIELD System to Defend Against Drone Hijacking

October 20, 2025
Researchers at Florida International University have developed SHIELD, a machine learning-based system that detects and recovers drones from cyberattacks midflight, allowing them to complete their missions.

Florida International University researchers have developed a system to protect drones from cyberattacks midflight, announced in a press release. The system, called SHIELD, was presented at the IEEE International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks and is designed to detect and neutralize attacks in real time while allowing drones to continue their missions.

SHIELD monitors a drone’s entire control system, identifying irregularities in both sensors and hardware components such as batteries and processors. Using machine learning, it diagnoses the type of attack and applies a tailored recovery response. In laboratory tests, SHIELD detected attacks in an average of 0.21 seconds and restored normal operation within 0.36 seconds.

The research comes as the Federal Aviation Administration considers expanding commercial drone use across multiple industries. The FIU team plans to scale up testing to prepare SHIELD for real-world deployment, aiming to enhance drone reliability and mission continuity in the face of growing cybersecurity threats.

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