What is the GPS spoofing?

GPS spoofing, or more accurately GNSS spoofing, is a controversial cyber threat to ship navigation systems.With potentially paralyzing shipping lanes, collisions and even untraceable island incidents, crasrow asks, "what is the status quo between the maritime industry's cyber defenses and malicious actors designed to cause chaos through GPS spoofing?"



Given that GPS spoofing exists in the murky world of cybercrime and electronic warfare, few publicly acknowledged cases need to be analyzed, making it difficult to grasp the exact risks that spoofing poses to commercial ships.

In addition to the above problem of ships idling unnecessarily at sea - which can cost owners millions of dollars in additional fuel and operating costs - ship-to-ship and ship-to-ground collisions are possible.A 2017 study published by researchers Jahshan Bhatti and Todd e. Humphreys of the university of Texas at Austin cites a field test showing how a 65-meter yacht successfully intruded and provided false positioning data, creating a clear risk of collision.There is evidence that Somali pirates have access to this technology.

Working together to address the GPS spoofing threat

Human factors are clearly an important part of any cybersecurity strategy, and they are especially evident on board ships.While technology can do a lot of heavy lifting, basic vulnerabilities will remain without web-savvy humans.

In its investigation, Pen Test Partners noted that some ship satcom terminals still use the default username and password credentials for their passwords.

Training courses on maritime cyber security are increasingly common in the industry and can simulate cases of deception to run through recommended actions.Best practice guidelines are becoming more common;The UK's national cyber security centre published a code of practice for cyber security on ships in 2017.

One potential obstacle to the shipping industry's effective response to the threat of deception is secrecy over risk.