GPS Jammers Can Wreak Havoc, Cover up Crime
Comparable in prevalence to electricity, the Global Positioning System (GPS) has evolved beyond a simple convenience for travelers. It now plays a critical role in landing airplanes, navigating ships, coordinating data on communication networks, and managing the complexities of large power grids.
The precision in positioning and timing provided by GPS has led to a significant dependency, causing us to often underestimate its importance and assume its availability whenever we need it.
Initially, GPS was created for the purpose of tracking military equipment and vehicles, and it was not foreseen to be utilized in numerous civilian contexts. Recent occurrences have demonstrated that GPS is susceptible to security risks that could cause significant disruption to both personal devices and vital national infrastructure.
Small Cost, Big Consequence
The primary threat originates from a phenomenon that authorities are increasingly apprehensive about, namely the rising trend of utilizing low-cost GPS jammers.
Available for personal use at a minimum cost of $30, GPS jammers, also known as "anti-GPS" devices, can be quite small. Some versions are designed to look like a 12-volt car cigarette lighter power adapter that is linked to an antenna.
Online, these gadgets are advertised as means to enhance personal privacy and obstruct tracking of individuals' locations. However, reports from the UK indicate that such devices have also been misused by criminals and car thieves to mask their unlawful activities.
"The production of these items by Chinese factories is a cause for concern," remarked Peter Large, vice president of Trimble, a company located in Sunnyvale, California that focuses on advanced positioning systems. He warned that if these products become widespread, the impact could be severe.
The operation of GPS jammers involves the interference of frequencies within one of the standard GPS bands. Due to the inherently low power of GPS signals, which transmit at merely 25 watts from satellites situated around 12,500 miles above the Earth, these signals can be easily disrupted or interfered with by receivers, including portable navigation devices.
Due to the common practice of equipping vehicles with onboard GPS receivers by car and truck fleet operators, some drivers resort to using signal jammers to hinder their supervisors from tracking their movements.
According to a November report from the government-established National Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Advisory Commission, "Our current capabilities to detect and counter GPS jammers are inadequate." The report highlighted that "It took an extended period to identify the device that was interfering with the new GPS landing system at Newark Airport in New Jersey."
GPS signals are set to serve as the foundation for the forthcoming generation of air traffic control systems that oversee aircraft in flight, moving away from the existing system that depends on radar and human intervention.
In addition to overseeing road and marine traffic and managing data and power networks, GPS signals are instrumental in regulating traffic light timings and guaranteeing that automated farming equipment performs accurate plowing and harvesting of fields.
Interfering with any of these systems may lead to severe consequences.
According to Trimble's Large, there is a significant concern that GPS jammers could serve as a weapon.
The National PNT Advisory Commission's report concurred on the necessity of enhancing GPS systems employed in national security operations, such as those in fighter jets and other military technologies, to withstand threats. It also designated GPS as essential infrastructure.
The urgent development and deployment of systems that can efficiently detect, counteract, and deactivate jammers is essential. Additionally, there is a critical need for laws that grant the authority to apprehend and prosecute those who intentionally commit such offenses.
This month, the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK published a report that reached analogous conclusions.
According to the report, global navigation satellite services (GNSS) have reached a level of convenience and prevalence that users frequently take them for granted. It emphasizes that while the failure of these services in a particular application may only result in minor inconveniences, a more extensive failure affecting multiple systems could have far-reaching and serious implications.
In the United States, GPS jammers are deemed illegal, and similar restrictions apply in numerous European countries. However, the legal framework in some other nations is not as well-defined.
The precision in positioning and timing provided by GPS has led to a significant dependency, causing us to often underestimate its importance and assume its availability whenever we need it.
Initially, GPS was created for the purpose of tracking military equipment and vehicles, and it was not foreseen to be utilized in numerous civilian contexts. Recent occurrences have demonstrated that GPS is susceptible to security risks that could cause significant disruption to both personal devices and vital national infrastructure.
Small Cost, Big Consequence
The primary threat originates from a phenomenon that authorities are increasingly apprehensive about, namely the rising trend of utilizing low-cost GPS jammers.
Available for personal use at a minimum cost of $30, GPS jammers, also known as "anti-GPS" devices, can be quite small. Some versions are designed to look like a 12-volt car cigarette lighter power adapter that is linked to an antenna.
Online, these gadgets are advertised as means to enhance personal privacy and obstruct tracking of individuals' locations. However, reports from the UK indicate that such devices have also been misused by criminals and car thieves to mask their unlawful activities.
"The production of these items by Chinese factories is a cause for concern," remarked Peter Large, vice president of Trimble, a company located in Sunnyvale, California that focuses on advanced positioning systems. He warned that if these products become widespread, the impact could be severe.
The operation of GPS jammers involves the interference of frequencies within one of the standard GPS bands. Due to the inherently low power of GPS signals, which transmit at merely 25 watts from satellites situated around 12,500 miles above the Earth, these signals can be easily disrupted or interfered with by receivers, including portable navigation devices.
Due to the common practice of equipping vehicles with onboard GPS receivers by car and truck fleet operators, some drivers resort to using signal jammers to hinder their supervisors from tracking their movements.
According to a November report from the government-established National Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Advisory Commission, "Our current capabilities to detect and counter GPS jammers are inadequate." The report highlighted that "It took an extended period to identify the device that was interfering with the new GPS landing system at Newark Airport in New Jersey."
GPS signals are set to serve as the foundation for the forthcoming generation of air traffic control systems that oversee aircraft in flight, moving away from the existing system that depends on radar and human intervention.
In addition to overseeing road and marine traffic and managing data and power networks, GPS signals are instrumental in regulating traffic light timings and guaranteeing that automated farming equipment performs accurate plowing and harvesting of fields.
Interfering with any of these systems may lead to severe consequences.
According to Trimble's Large, there is a significant concern that GPS jammers could serve as a weapon.
The National PNT Advisory Commission's report concurred on the necessity of enhancing GPS systems employed in national security operations, such as those in fighter jets and other military technologies, to withstand threats. It also designated GPS as essential infrastructure.
The urgent development and deployment of systems that can efficiently detect, counteract, and deactivate jammers is essential. Additionally, there is a critical need for laws that grant the authority to apprehend and prosecute those who intentionally commit such offenses.
This month, the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK published a report that reached analogous conclusions.
According to the report, global navigation satellite services (GNSS) have reached a level of convenience and prevalence that users frequently take them for granted. It emphasizes that while the failure of these services in a particular application may only result in minor inconveniences, a more extensive failure affecting multiple systems could have far-reaching and serious implications.
In the United States, GPS jammers are deemed illegal, and similar restrictions apply in numerous European countries. However, the legal framework in some other nations is not as well-defined.