On Dec.5, GPSJam documented limited GPS jamming in Russia—most of the documented jamming occurred in the area around Moscow, where the Kremlin has been tampering with GPS connections for years.However, several parts of the country have faced GPS outages since December 11, data collected by GPSJam shows.Jamming and spoofing attacks can completely weaken a GPS connection or make something appear in the wrong place, causing outages and security issues.
Additionally, wireless data analytics firm Aurora Insight measured an increase in GPS signal levels in the area in early December — a sign of possible GPS interference.Wired reports that several cities in Russia have reported problems with GPS signals.From a report: Multiple major Russian cities appear to be facing widespread GPS outages over the past week, new data analysis shows.
The signal jamming came after Ukraine launched a long-range drone attack deep into Russian territory, which experts say could be a way to stop drones that rely on GPS for navigation.Last September, criminals learned to use GPS jammers (frequency jammers) to steal cargo from trucks and ships.What we've been watching for about a week is a 'bubble' of jamming devices, covering hundreds if not thousands of kilometers around strategic cities.
GPSJam, a site that monitors GPS interference in real time, has reported GPS-related problems; since early December, the site has highlighted the Saratov metropolitan area, Volgograd and Penza, as well as other cities in eastern Russia and distances from the border Hundreds of kilometers of GPS interference are increasing with Ukraine.
Erik Kannike, project manager at SensusQ, a military intelligence agency based in Tallinn (Estonia), reports that GPS signals have been disrupted to unprecedented levels and the agency is monitoring the situation.The glitches came after the Ukrainians launched drone strikes on Russian territory, a way of jamming Soviet drones that relied on GPS.
