# Cyber4 Drone: A Systematic Review of Cyber Security and Forensics in Next-Generation Drones
## 1 Introduction  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, are controlled and piloted remotely and are employed for defense and rescue missions. Drones were primarily used for defense purposes (for example, they are highly utilized in the Ukraine-Russia war), but in recent years, their use for civilian purposes has grown significantly. Drones are being used for tasks such as patrolling and policing, search and rescue, agrotech and videography, and preventing and identifying poachers due to the domination of the digital lifestyle. Additionally, drones have been found in unintended violations of no-fly zones, raising the possibility that terrorists could use them to cause terror and possibly other harm [1]. By 2025, the worldwide drone industry is anticipated to reach $42.8 billion, growing 13.8% annually [2]. Cyber forensics is the domain of forensic science that deals with gathering evidence from digital devices and analyzing events. Drone forensics deals with the forensic analysis of drones for investigation purposes. The popularity and affordability of drones have also increased their use in illegal activities. Investigations depend heavily on the drone taken from the crime scene and the gadgets it was attached to. Evidence can be gleaned from a drone and its ground controller, including the drone's identification number, prior flight locations, camera images, logs, and software used. Drone forensics are difficult because they rely on volatile memory and dynamic data that might be lost when the battery is discharged [3, 4]. When criminals utilize technology to hide their tracks, law enforcement officers are left to try and retrieve evidence from their computers, phones, or storage drives for investigations. Authorities need a dependable way to extract data from these seized drones so that the evidence is stored and acceptable in court. Currently, recreational drone usage dominates the landscape, with enthusiasts being the primary users. However, major companies such as Amazon, Google, and Meta have ambitious plans to incorporate drones into their operations for delivering goods and services. As the number of operational drones continues to rise, it is expected that an increase in security, privacy, and safety concerns will follow. Drones can be controlled remotely or autonomously through onboard computers [5]. Drones rely on a network of sensors and actuators that establish communication with the Ground Control System (GCS) via wireless links. Consequently, drones become vulnerable to potential attacks targeting their cyber and/or physical components, the interface between them, the wireless link, or even a combination of multiple components. In a popular example of drone takeover, an American drone that purportedly breached Iranian airspace was successfully landed by an Iranian cyber warfare team [6]. A possible sequence of events reveals that a combination of cyber attacks was deployed, wherein all contacts with the drone were initially cut off by jamming both the satellite and ground control signals. Further, a GPS spoofing attack was initiated to deceive the drone into believing it was landing in its home base by feeding it with manipulated GPS data to make it land in Iran. Due to the significance of drone security, this paper analyzes recent drone system assaults in this article. This work also focuses on protocols, related threats, targeted security features, and solutions proposed in the literature. It examines the related security and privacy challenges of drones. It also presents a comprehensive drone forensics methodology for the analysis of drone systems and talks about relevant artifacts, tools, and benchmark datasets. The findings of this study will help academics and developers better understand the state of drone forensics and security today. _Methodology:_ The research methodology selected for this paper amounts to a systematic literature review, in which a rigid framework for searching the literature is used to answer precise research questions.