Addressing potential risks of signal interference requires government answers

Gleason Arliss 2022/08/12

　　The increasing reliance on GNSS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) has raised parallel concerns about the potential risks of signal interference. Popular media recently highlighted reports of car thieves wreaking havoc on GPS receivers throughout the port using GPS jammers, solar flares emitting L-band radiation, and faulty televisions.

　　Speculation has suggested dire scenarios such as the collapse of telecommunications, power and banking networks, ship collisions and planes falling from the sky. Responses to these stories can be equally extreme, with some arguing that "GPS is unreliable" or "We need an alternative to PNT systems."

　　When computers were first threatened by viruses and hackers, we didn't throw them aside complaining "computers are too fragile - we need an alternative". No, all of our work is done without pen and paper. We just installed a firewall and virus checker.

　　So is GNSS - or should be. Rather than simply criticizing the weaknesses of the technology, we need to explore ways to address distractions and distractions. By "solution", I'm talking about protecting what we have, rather than simply abandoning GNSS and resorting to less mature alternatives such as Enhanced Loran (eLoran).

　　With GPS jammers everywhere, the threat from spoofing is growing. Despite our increasing reliance on GNSS, there has been very little work to actually address the problem, but the question is answered.