Matthew Rosenquist
Moderator
Reports are coming out of the Black Sea that back in June, a number of ships were impacted by interference with their Global Positioning Systems(GPS) that they use for navigation. A number of ships reported false GPS locations while in the Black Sea, indicating their position to be almost 20 miles inland. This incident may be the first actual GPS spoofing attack, impacting real ships, seen in the wild.
Are We Really Here?
Although the risks of fake GPS signals causing navigation issues have been known for years, this may be the first time such activities have been seen outside of the research community and in the real world.
GPS signals, which come from orbiting satellites, are very weak. It is possible for more powerful signals originating on the ground from an attacker to mimic a GPS satellite and be mistaken for authentic. This gives an attacker with such broadcast capabilities the ability to manipulate the triangulation calculations that GPS devices use to determine their location on the earth’s surface. The result is a victim will think they are somewhere they are not.
[video=youtube_share;ctw9ECgJ8L0]https://youtu.be/ctw9ECgJ8L0[/video]
A successful attack could make a crew alter course to the attackers destination, cause collisions, or run ships aground.
What is Old is New
Such concerns over the past few years has driven a resurgence for using much older radar technology such as Enhanced Long-Range Navigation (eLoran) to augment or supplant GPS location services for ships. This technology, although modernized, has its roots dating back to World War II. These land based systems transmit very powerful signals which would be difficult for most attackers to overwhelm with their own signal. It makes attempts to jam or spoof legitimate signals very difficult and more unlikely.
Aye Captain!
Technology is just a tool. It can be used for good or malice. Today, the best protection is still an experienced Captain as complete reliance on technology has proven problematic. Experienced professionals, who are doing their job diligently, is the best defense to such digital manipulation attempts.
Even the very best technology does not assure security and safety. The recent at-sea collision of the USS Fitzgerald and a cargo vessel off the coast of Japan, shows how even one of the most advanced ships on the seas can be involved in a collision. People are the crucial element. If they perform diligently in a professional capacity, then traffic flows safely. If people or technology are insecure, incompetent, or vulnerable to manipulation then bad things will happen.
These are some of the issues that must be considered for the emerging wave of autonomous ships planned for the open ocean. Will removing people from the equation make shipping safer or simply make it easier for hackers to cause catastrophe?
Interested in more? Follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter (@Matt_Rosenquist), Information Security Strategy, and Steemit to hear insights and what is going on in cybersecurity.
Are We Really Here?
Although the risks of fake GPS signals causing navigation issues have been known for years, this may be the first time such activities have been seen outside of the research community and in the real world.
GPS signals, which come from orbiting satellites, are very weak. It is possible for more powerful signals originating on the ground from an attacker to mimic a GPS satellite and be mistaken for authentic. This gives an attacker with such broadcast capabilities the ability to manipulate the triangulation calculations that GPS devices use to determine their location on the earth’s surface. The result is a victim will think they are somewhere they are not.
[video=youtube_share;ctw9ECgJ8L0]https://youtu.be/ctw9ECgJ8L0[/video]
A successful attack could make a crew alter course to the attackers destination, cause collisions, or run ships aground.
What is Old is New
Such concerns over the past few years has driven a resurgence for using much older radar technology such as Enhanced Long-Range Navigation (eLoran) to augment or supplant GPS location services for ships. This technology, although modernized, has its roots dating back to World War II. These land based systems transmit very powerful signals which would be difficult for most attackers to overwhelm with their own signal. It makes attempts to jam or spoof legitimate signals very difficult and more unlikely.
Aye Captain!
Technology is just a tool. It can be used for good or malice. Today, the best protection is still an experienced Captain as complete reliance on technology has proven problematic. Experienced professionals, who are doing their job diligently, is the best defense to such digital manipulation attempts.
Even the very best technology does not assure security and safety. The recent at-sea collision of the USS Fitzgerald and a cargo vessel off the coast of Japan, shows how even one of the most advanced ships on the seas can be involved in a collision. People are the crucial element. If they perform diligently in a professional capacity, then traffic flows safely. If people or technology are insecure, incompetent, or vulnerable to manipulation then bad things will happen.
These are some of the issues that must be considered for the emerging wave of autonomous ships planned for the open ocean. Will removing people from the equation make shipping safer or simply make it easier for hackers to cause catastrophe?
Interested in more? Follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter (@Matt_Rosenquist), Information Security Strategy, and Steemit to hear insights and what is going on in cybersecurity.
