SHENZHEN-BASED drone manufacturer DJI said safety is at the core of everything the company does, and the security of its technology has been independently verified by the U.S. Government and leading U.S. businesses.

The company’s statement came in response to an alert issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“We provide all our customers full and complete control over how their data is collected, stored and transmitted. For government and critical infrastructure customers that require additional assurances, we provide drones that do not transfer data to DJI or via the Internet, and our customers can enable all the security steps DHS recommends,” the company said.

DJI emphasized that the company is committed to continuously working with customers as well as industry and government stakeholders to ensure its technology adheres to all of their requirements.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued an alert Monday that Chinese-made drones may be sending sensitive flight data back to their manufacturers in China, where it can be accessed by the government.

According to a report by CNN, the alert warns companies and organizations that the U.S. Government has “strong concerns about any technology product that takes American data into the territory of an authoritarian state that permits its intelligence services to have unfettered access to that data.”

The report does not name any specific manufacturers, but nearly 80 percent of the drones used in the U.S. and Canada come from DJI, according to industry analysis.

(China Daily)