The recent data analysis by Wired revealed that many severe GPS outages occurred over the course of the previous week in several Russian cities.
The disruption in the transmission was used to destroy drones that require GPS for navigation after Ukraine launched long-range drone attacks deep into Russian territory, security analysts explained.
According to Erik Kannike, GPS interference has reached a level that has never been seen before. The program manager for SensusQ, an Estonian military intelligence company, is Kannike. Since a week ago, GPS jamming bubbles have been encircling strategic cities for hundreds to thousands of kilometers.
The first to identify the GPS outages was GPSJam, a monitoring system that keeps track of problems with the satellite navigation system using data from airplanes.
More GPS hiccups have occurred in Saratov, Volgograd, and Penza since December. These cities are all located in eastern Russia, close to the Ukrainian border.
On December 5, there was hardly any interference in Russia, according to the GPSJam database. The majority of the interference was found in and near Moscow, where the Kremlin has long been known to tamper with GPS communications.
However, data gathered by GPSJam indicates that the guidance system has been impacted in various areas since December 11. A wireless data analytics firm called Aurora Insight also discovered an increase in GPS signal strength in the area around the beginning of December, which may indicate GPS interference.
Vulnerability of the system
Only Moscow experienced GPS jamming during the outset of Russia's extensive invasion of Ukraine in February. The database shows that there have recently been few signal interruptions in Russia. In the vicinity of Finland's border with Russia, GPS issues have been reported.
All satellite-based navigation systems collectively referred to as GNSS, are susceptible to disruption for a number of reasons.
While spoofing generates false radio signals, jamming weakens them. Jamming could make it impossible for drones to fly and destroy mapping software. Meanwhile, spoofing has caused the positions of hundreds of warships to be fabricated since 2020.
As the most widely used GNSS system, GPS has developed into an "international utility." As a result, it is more "vulnerable and likely to be interrupted," according to Dana Goward, CEO of the foundation that safeguards critical infrastructure. He thinks that doing so makes many systems more chaotic.
Tracker for GPS outages
Few large-scale projects, according to reports, keep an eye on GPS disturbances. According to John Wiseman, the engineer who created GPSJam, the technology exploits ADS-B signals sent by airplanes to let users know where they are and follow them.
GPSJam makes use of ADS-B information from the network of aviation enthusiasts known as ADS-B Exchange. Wiseman gathers this information every day to identify GPS interference.
Potential interference is shown on the GPSJam map in red hexes, light interference in yellow, and no interference in green. Most red zones, according to Wiseman, are found in areas where GPS manipulation has been established.
GPS failures can also be monitored from space. Wired was given data from Aurora Insight, which uses satellites to identify GNSS outages, showing a rise in signal strength in eastern Russia since August. According to the company, an increase in GPS signal strength may cause some GPS receivers to malfunction, but this does not mean that jamming has occurred.
