The increasing frequency of navigation disruptions requires urgent safety measures.
Unprecedented attacks are taking place in the skies over the Middle East, disrupting the navigation systems of airliners. Since September, dozens of cases have been recorded where commercial flights have encountered problems as a result of so-called "spoofing" of GPS signals – replacing real signals with fake ones, forcing on-board systems to assume that the plane is in a different place. One of the planes almost entered Iranian airspace without permission.
OPSGROUP, an international group of pilots and technicians, has recorded more than 50 incidents in the last five weeks. The attacks are concentrated in three regions: Baghdad, Cairo and Tel Aviv. Experts emphasize the severity of the problem, pointing to a "fundamental defect in the design of avionics."
It is also noted that interference in this region is not new, but the power and complexity of current attacks is a new phenomenon. So, Professor Todd Humphries from the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in satellite communications, points out the presence of powerful signal jammers near Syria since 2018. According to him, spoofing is used to disrupt systems more effectively than simply suppressing the signal.
At the moment, there is no solution to this problem, and the consequences can be disastrous. If crews realize that something is amiss, their only option is to rely on ground-based air traffic control.
Humphreys and other experts have been warning about the dangers of such attacks for years. In 2012, Humphries testified before the US Congress about the need to protect GNSS systems from spoofing, calling it a "zero-day exploit against aviation systems."
The source of spoofing was located in the area of the eastern outskirts of Tehran. Spoofing is also noted, allegedly originating from Israel after the Hamas attacks on October 7. According to Humphreys, "powerful and persistent spoofing" over Israel is most likely carried out by Israel itself.
Unprecedented attacks are taking place in the skies over the Middle East, disrupting the navigation systems of airliners. Since September, dozens of cases have been recorded where commercial flights have encountered problems as a result of so-called "spoofing" of GPS signals – replacing real signals with fake ones, forcing on-board systems to assume that the plane is in a different place. One of the planes almost entered Iranian airspace without permission.
OPSGROUP, an international group of pilots and technicians, has recorded more than 50 incidents in the last five weeks. The attacks are concentrated in three regions: Baghdad, Cairo and Tel Aviv. Experts emphasize the severity of the problem, pointing to a "fundamental defect in the design of avionics."
It is also noted that interference in this region is not new, but the power and complexity of current attacks is a new phenomenon. So, Professor Todd Humphries from the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in satellite communications, points out the presence of powerful signal jammers near Syria since 2018. According to him, spoofing is used to disrupt systems more effectively than simply suppressing the signal.
At the moment, there is no solution to this problem, and the consequences can be disastrous. If crews realize that something is amiss, their only option is to rely on ground-based air traffic control.
Humphreys and other experts have been warning about the dangers of such attacks for years. In 2012, Humphries testified before the US Congress about the need to protect GNSS systems from spoofing, calling it a "zero-day exploit against aviation systems."
The source of spoofing was located in the area of the eastern outskirts of Tehran. Spoofing is also noted, allegedly originating from Israel after the Hamas attacks on October 7. According to Humphreys, "powerful and persistent spoofing" over Israel is most likely carried out by Israel itself.
