The Global Positioning System (GPS) and other Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) provide critical positioning, navigation and timing services to users across the globe. However, like other electronics-based systems (and despite industry efforts to bolster the security of these technologies) devices receiving a signal from GNSS satellites could be vulnerable to jamming and spoofing. It is time for the United States to coordinate international efforts to halt the marketing and sale of devices that interfere with GNSS systems.
To be clear, jamming and spoofing are already illegal. In the U.S., the Communications Act of 1934, the U.S. criminal code, and additional federal laws and regulations prohibit tampering with navigational systems, including GPS, cellular and personal communications devices, and police radar systems. However, without international coordination to enforce the laws and regulations already on the books, bad actors will continue to jam and spoof GNSS signals – interfering with critical uses, from personal navigation and agriculture to emergency response and defense.
Importantly, this interference is not limited to impacting receivers on Earth. Low Earth orbit satellites carry GNSS receivers to improve weather forecasts, predict space weather and monitor changes in climate. These important missions and other scientific research should not be hindered by regulatory inaction or lack of resources.
“There’s nothing wrong with GPS or other GNSS systems. What we need to do is actually enforce the laws prohibiting purposeful interference with them,” U.S. Spectrum Attorney Steve Baruch told me.
This conversation is not new. International and U.S. regulatory bodies have continued to highlight the dangers of such interference and encourage action. During the 2023 World Radiotelecommunications Conference (WRC), Resolution 676 (WRC-23), “Prevention and mitigation of harmful interference to the…
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