GPS jammers could unleash havoc

LONDON: Satellite navigation systems are at risk from criminals, terrorists or even just bored teenagers with the potential to cause major incidents ranging from maritime disasters to chaos in financial markets, experts say.

From maps on car dashboards and cellphones, to aviation and marine navigation systems, much of modern life relies on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), which use satellite signals to find a location or keep time.

The familiar GPS set up by the US government, and Glonass, a similar Russian system, were built for military purposes, but are now available to anyone with a device that can receive a signal. The EU, China and India are setting up similar systems.

Experts were worried about the havoc that could be caused if signals were jammed illegally, said Bob Cockshott, a director at Britain’s ICT Knowledge Transfer Network, which is hosting a conference in London.

He said the problem had been illustrated in 2009 when navigation systems at Newark Airport in the US began experiencing daily breakdowns brought about by a truck driver with a cheap, low-powered jammer in his vehicle passing by on a nearby road.

“We have moved on from a potentially threatening situation to a real danger that we must address,” Cockshott said.

Widely available on the internet, jammers are not illegal to own, but are illegal to use in the UK. Just how widespread they are is unclear, but monitors at one location in Britain recorded 60 jamming incidents over six months.

Cockshott said criminals had embraced the technology.

Some devices confiscated by police had “monstrous” transmission power compared with the weak signal emitted by satellites. There were serious concerns “that we are going to see a disaster”.

A potentially more serious risk is posed by “spoofing” – creating false GPS signals to alter perceptions of time or location. – Reuters