A gps jammer disrupted airport navigation, leading to the dismissal of a driver and a hefty $32,000 fine for stopping tracking devices.

• Are jamming devices lawful? The FCC says they have no legal use
• How GPS spoofing was used to hijack an $80 million, 213-foot yacht
• Can the U.S. Navy’s new anti-jam system effectively thwart adversaries?

Are jamming devices lawful? The FCC says they have no legal use

Imagine trying to ensure a bit of privacy by jamming a company vehicle’s GPS tracker, thinking it would keep your location hidden from your boss. But what if this small act had larger consequences? A driver from New Jersey learned this the hard way when his GPS jamming disrupted crucial pre-deployment testing of a ground-based augmentation system (GBAS) at Newark Liberty International Airport. As a result, he lost his job at the engineering company Tilcon and faced a hefty fine of almost $32,000 from the FCC. The reason? Jamming devices, as the FCC clearly states, “have no lawful use” and are only legally allowed to be sold “to the U.S. federal government for authorized, official use.” The GBAS, which was undergoing testing at Newark Airport, is designed to enhance navigation signals for aircraft, ensuring precision approach, departure procedures, and terminal area operations. On August 3rd, the FAA reported interference during these critical tests, leading to the discovery of the unauthorized jamming device and its consequences.

On August 4th, an FCC agent identified a red Ford F-150 pickup truck as the source of GPS jamming using direction finding techniques. The driver, Gary Bojczak, admitted to owning and operating the radio transmitting device responsible for disrupting GPS transmissions. Bojczak explained that he had installed the jamming device in his company vehicle to block the GPS-based tracking system his employer had installed. In a significant move, the FCC bypassed the usual warning and imposed a substantial fine of $31,875, marking the first such instance.

According to the FCC, jamming devices “have no lawful use.” This statement holds significant weight, especially in light of recent events. At a GPS conference, John Merrill, the program manager for position, timing, and navigation at the Homeland Security Department, revealed that it took the FAA and FCC over two years to locate a single GPS jammer operated by a trucker on the New Jersey Turnpike. Despite this, CBS New York interviewed drivers who aren’t opposed to gps tracking by their employers, with one driver stating she had “nothing to hide” from her dispatcher. However, there exists a thriving market for GPS jammers, albeit illegal, and even a market for detecting these devices, such as the newly released Chronos CTL3520 Handheld Directional GPS Jammer Detector and Locator.

This handheld, battery-operated device swiftly detects jamming signals, operating much like a speed gun. Its primary use is to pinpoint gps jammers concealed within vehicles, ensuring even the weakest signals are identified. The unit’s precision allows users to locate the exact vehicle harboring the jammer, even in bustling, multi-story parking garages. Moreover, it’s invaluable in various settings such as airports, fleet depots, airport parking, and taxi fleets, aiding in the detection of vehicles equipped with jammers.

How GPS spoofing was used to hijack an $80 million, 213-foot yacht

Sending fake GPS signals, known as GPS spoofing, remains undetectable, unlike GPS jamming. This was recently demonstrated by researchers from the University of Texas at Austin, who successfully hijacked a 213-foot luxury yacht worth $80 million in the Mediterranean Sea. Using GPS spoofing techniques, the team redirected the White Rose of the Drachs yacht off its original course by hundreds of meters, proving the potential dangers of this technology. This is not the first time the group has exposed vulnerabilities; they previously showed how civilian drones could be hijacked and weaponized.

A team of experts gained control of a ship’s navigation system using a homemade, briefcase-sized GPS spoofing device. By slowly overpowering the authentic GPS signals, they were able to coerce the ship onto a new course using subtle maneuvers. This strategy positioned the yacht just a few degrees off its original path, triggering a “location discrepancy” alert in the navigation system. However, each time the crew attempted to correct the course, the spoofing device ensured they were actually setting the ship slightly off its intended trajectory. The entire operation was executed seamlessly, with no alarms raised on the ship’s equipment, highlighting the potential vulnerabilities of navigation systems to such advanced spoofing techniques.

In a recent experiment, researchers successfully spoofed a yacht’s GPS, highlighting the vulnerabilities of marine vessels to such attacks. Assistant professor Todd Humphreys, who led the experiment, expressed concern over the broader implications of GPS spoofing, given that 90% of global freight moves across the seas and a significant portion of human transportation relies on air travel. Humphreys emphasized the need to gain a deeper understanding of this threat, stating, “We didn’t know just how possible it is to spoof a marine vessel and how difficult it is to detect this attack.” He added that the findings are also relevant to semi-autonomous vehicles like aircraft, which partially rely on autopilot systems. Calling for swift action, Humphreys urged, “We’ve got to put on our thinking caps and see what we can do to solve this threat quickly.” The experiment revealed a pronounced curve in the yacht’s wake, indicating that it had turned despite its electronic chart showing a fixed line of progress.

Can the U.S. Navy’s new anti-jam system effectively thwart adversaries?

The U.S. Navy has successfully tested a miniaturized GPS protection device that ensures uninterrupted global positioning data, essential for missions. This breakthrough involves an anti-jamming Small Antenna System (SAS) mounted on an Aerostar unmanned aircraft. The SAS proved its effectiveness by maintaining accurate GPS tracking even under multiple jamming signals. Eric Stevens, the lead for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Communications and Navigation, explained that the antenna allows them to “track and acquire the true GPS satellites” despite enemy jamming attempts. Donn Rushing, the Maritime Unmanned Development and Operations (MUDO) project lead, added that this new system is ideal for UAVs due to its reduced size and footprint, marking a significant advancement in anti-jamming technology for unmanned aircraft.

Staying ahead of smart enemies is crucial. The U.S. Navy is testing a new GPS anti-jam system, called SAS, to enhance combat capabilities against adversaries. This latest technology ensures our warfighters maintain the upper hand in the battle against the bad guys.