National GPS Jamming Detection: An Urgent Need for Enhanced Security

by

The surge in GPS threats is reaching unprecedented levels, with escalating global conflicts undermining its reliability. Vast areas of Europe and the Middle East are bearing the brunt of interference attacks, leading to significant disruptions for civilians. North America is witnessing a rise in criminal activities, with jammers being increasingly used for drug trafficking, cargo truck thefts, and more. In recent years, sporadic gps jamming and spoofing incidents have caused chaos at key American airports. Fueled by privacy concerns and anti-government conspiracy theories, even ordinary Americans are purchasing low-cost retail jammers. For years, security analysts have been ringing alarm bells about the potential targeted attacks on GPS that could cripple the financial system, power grid, air traffic systems, and emergency services. While the need to develop backup capabilities for GPS is becoming more urgent, another pressing issue demands our immediate attention.

America’s satnav capabilities are at risk due to the absence of a coordinated, real-time, high-precision GPS jamming and spoofing detection system. This gaping hole in our national security leaves government, commercial, and emergency operations exposed to potential threats within our borders. It’s imperative that we implement an automated detection system capable of pinpointing GPS interference instantly and generating accurate, real-time maps of the impacted areas. By addressing this critical shortcoming, we can enhance the resilience and reliability of our satellite navigation systems, ensuring the safety and security of vital operations across the country.

Current Situation: A Query into Present Circumstances

Ineffective current detection methods and outdated outage maps pose significant challenges, due to their reliance on limited data collection and systems that are no longer up-to-date. This results in widespread coverage gaps, complicating effective responses. Traditional GPS outages are currently tracked through a combination of high-altitude platforms for broad area monitoring, such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) at 30,000 feet or higher, satellite systems, and ground-based sensors focused on specific locations like airports and military bases. However, these approaches have inherent limitations. Aviation-based sensors, for instance, face difficulties in detecting jamming and spoofing that target terrestrial assets or low-altitude drones. Evidence from firsthand accounts indicates the presence of Chinese jamming around Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait.

China employs low-angle directed jammers and terrain shielding, evading detection by outage apps reliant on ADS-B. This subtle jamming tactic often remains undetected. Simultaneously, ground-based sensors, with their restricted range, offer only patchy coverage due to limited deployments. Consequently, the full scope of occurrences remains largely obscured, painting an incomplete picture of the current situation.

Where are blackouts?

The effectiveness of current global navigation satellite system (GNSS) outage maps is evident, yet they face limitations. Despite valiant efforts to track interference incidents, these maps are constrained by insufficient data. Consequently, they lack the ability to provide highly precise, real-time location data for GPS interference events. Furthermore, they neither determine the intensity of jamming or spoofing nor track how this intensity varies based on physical distance, altitude, and topographical features like hills, mountains, trees, and buildings. Additionally, their usefulness is primarily confined to the immediate vicinity of airports and flight paths, resulting in significant coverage gaps in certain geographical areas.

GNSS interference can be broadly tracked using outage maps, offering a general sense of where disruptions are happening. However, these maps lack the precision and completeness required by military, civilian aircraft, maritime vessels, or medevac services, who depend on accurate location data for effective coordination.

Are Smartphones Our Ultimate Answer?

Sophisticated algorithms, leveraging data from multiple smartphones, can pinpoint signal irregularities, indicating jamming or spoofing activities. This innovative approach highlights the potential of smartphones as a vast distributed sensor network. In the US, over 300 million smartphone users form a powerful detection system. Backed by years of research, crowdsourced smartphone detection for GPS/GNSS interference has emerged as a viable solution. The National Space-based PNT Advisory Board promotes the establishment of a national satnav interference detection and reporting system, emphasizing the use of mobile wireless technology as a key component.

Smartphone networks offer a unique solution for timely alerts on jamming or spoofing threats. By spatially analyzing raw GNSS signals, these networks can localize attack sources, providing enhanced protection for civilian navigation and critical infrastructure. Their vast, distributed nature also solves key challenges in interference detection: identifying emitters and determining the affected area. This innovative approach utilizes real-time indicators, strengthening resilience against disruptions to timing applications and more.

How to Track Carbon Emitters?

Locating the precise source of interference attacks, known as the emitter, is pivotal for implementing swift and efficient countermeasures. This includes disabling the jammer to restore navigation services. Pinpointing the emitter offers insights into the interference’s epicenter, its potential impact, and the assets most vulnerable. Nevertheless, traditional ground-based sensors often struggle to accurately identify these emitters. A primary obstacle lies in the jammers’ use of low-power signals, which are harder to detect remotely and can bounce off various surfaces like buildings, vehicles, and foliage. Additionally, mobile jammers constantly shift their positions, adding another layer of complexity to the tracking process. Advanced jammers also employ detection evasion techniques, such as omnidirectional antennas and frequency hopping, complicating triangulation efforts. The integration of a smartphone-based detection system would significantly bolster the sensor network, enhancing the chances of successfully tracing the emitter.

Large networks of mobile devices enable real-time monitoring of the ionosphere, enhancing positioning accuracy. This innovative approach utilizes a dense grid of detection points to swiftly and precisely detect, confirm, and centralize signal location data in real-time. Even if the emitter shifts positions, this system ensures seamless tracking. By harnessing the power of these networks, we can revolutionize how we monitor and locate signals, paving the way for more advanced and efficient positioning technologies.

How Do Areas of Effect Work?

Determining the precise area of effect of GPS interference poses a significant challenge to current detection methods. Variations in signal strength and the overall potency of interference attacks are influenced by multiple factors, including geographical distance, natural landscapes like hills and forests, urban density, and other environmental elements. Consequently, the actual impact of an attack can vary considerably between two locations, even if they are relatively close to each other. To address this complexity, a combined network of high-altitude and ad hoc terrestrial sensors offers a broader range of inputs, enhancing our ability to accurately assess and mitigate the effects of GPS interference. The altitude of these sensors also plays a crucial role in improving detection capabilities.

Through field testing with Ukraine’s military innovation unit, we’ve discovered notable variations in jamming signal strength and impact based on altitude. While “Clear sky” targets like planes are more susceptible to the full force of jamming attacks, low-altitude drones and cars may encounter reduced effects. To ensure real-time, effective warnings for satnav users in affected zones, precise identification of the impact area is crucial. Smartphones emerge as a valuable tool in this context. By deploying a network of mobile sensors, we can enhance the speed and precision of determining the widespread effects of jamming and spoofing signals. This is achieved by assessing the impact on individual devices and correlating it with their location data, thereby offering a swift and accurate solution.

Where Should We Go Next?

Integrating GPS interference detection efforts across various agencies like the Defense Department, Department of Homeland Security, and Federal Aviation Authority is crucial. By harnessing commercial satellites, artificial intelligence, and especially mobile phones, these initiatives aim to enhance detection capabilities. Mobile phones stand out due to their widespread distribution, cost-effectiveness, and ability to boost redundancy. However, what we ultimately need is a unified system that brings these technologies together for real-time detection. Currently, we’re testing new smartphone-based capabilities for detection and emitter localization, paving the way for a more comprehensive solution.

Sean Gorman, CEO and co-founder of Zephr.xyz, leads the charge in developing cutting-edge location-based solutions. Central to their innovation is a multi-layer system that integrates satellite, ground, mobile, and aviation data, delivering unparalleled GNSS anomaly detection and tracking. This comprehensive approach ensures rapid identification and response to any threats. Notably, the inclusion of a mobile phone detection system offers a cost-effective early warning mechanism. Phone sensors initiate alerts, swiftly followed by satellite and other system confirmations. By establishing a dense network of detection points, we significantly enhance our defensive capabilities and expedite response times, paving the way for a safer, more secure future.

An expert in geospatial data science and national security, Gorman boasts over 20 years of experience as a researcher, entrepreneur, and academic. He has held senior roles at Maxar and iXOL, and founded Pixel8earth, GeoIQ, and Timbr.io. As the former engineering manager of Snap’s Map team and Chief Strategist at ESRI’s DC Development Center, Gorman’s expertise is unparalleled. He has served as a subject matter expert for the DHS Critical Infrastructure Task Force and Homeland Security Advisory Council, earning him eight patents. Gorman’s wealth of knowledge extends to academia, where he was formerly a research professor at George Mason University.