Mission: Spoof-Proof
By: Joelle Bosia
Global Positioning System (GPS) technology is universally integrated in most peoples day to day lives. It helps give people directions to where they need to be. It can help reroute to the fastest route while traveling. It has the trust of the majority of the population.
What happens when you cannot trust GPS technology to get you where you need to be?
In 2016, certain areas of Moscow near the Kremlin Wall where subjected to scrambled satellite signals. People reported their GPS telling them that they were 20 miles away at Vnukovo airport. One person was even charged an extra $10.50 for an Uber because a ride close to the Kremlin was recorded as going to the airport, instead of a short trip within central Moscow.
GPS spoofing is the suspected cause of the events. Spoofing is when the GPS signal is tampered with by a receiver which then transmits a louder false signal to the victims. It is speculated that the Russian Government is applying spoofing technology to keep drones from flying over the Kremlin Wall. Someone tested a GPS signal and found that the signal was more distorted the closer he got to the wall which shows the Kremlin as the source of the disturbance.
What does this mean for self-driving cars?
As self-driving cars become more readily available, action needs to be taken to spoof-proof them. Many cars rely on GPS to get from place to place and with self-driving cars letting people not have to pay as much attention as before, there is a treat of a spoofing attack occurring and people not noticing that it is happening. This can lead people into potentially dangerous areas or situations. Also, with spoofing technology becoming easily accessible, more damage can be done without the proper preventative measures.
All-in-all, spoof-proof technology needs to be developed to prevent attacks in the future.
