Emilia Clarke was sitting on the sofa in her Venice, California, home when she heard an insectile buzzing. She glanced up and there it was: a drone, hovering outside her living room’s tall windows, its camera trained on the Mother of Dragons as she gave an interview.

“There’s a drone looking in my house!” a stunned Clarke exclaimed. “That’s really creepy.”

Once spotted, the drone shot off. About 20 minutes later, however, the whirring device crept back to gawk some more at her personal space. Clarke was exasperated and more than a little unnerved.

This happened in 2019 — four years after a California law passed banning drone operators from violating the airspace of private property. Illicit drone use has not only continued despite states passing strict laws but in recent years has proliferated, says Mike Fraietta, an FAA drone pilot and founder of security company Gargoyle Systems. Drone security systems are on the rise as companies and event producers look to secure their airspace. Professional, military-grade drone-detection systems — the kind used for sporting events, for instance — can cost about $200,000.