The large long-distance plane of SAS is on its way to Bangkok. The night flight is routine, but the captain on board points to challenges during the trip. – Jamming and spoofing of signals is the big problem, he says. The pilots are aware that unforeseen things can happen along the way. And it happens. Suddenly the plane loses the satellite signals when it is in the airspace over Iraq. In the cockpit forward of the pilots, the instruments now get the wrong time in relation to the time zone and the instruments show the wrong position of where the plane is. The passengers also notice it because the internet is down. Reason: the plane is susceptible to “spoofing” In the video from flightradar24.com, of which news has been given permission to reproduce parts, the pilots must now call the air traffic service on the ground for help in getting correct information. The development is worrying Satellite navigation, like GPS, is a central tool for position, navigation and accurate timing for aircraft. Manipulation of instruments on board aircraft by sending false GPS signals to the aircraft is called “spoofing”. The phenomenon is of concern because it is more serious than jamming. Jamming GPS signals blocks the signals, while spoofing manipulates the signals. The instruments on board the planes are then fed with incorrect information and it can end disastrously if the safety systems on board take over control because they sense danger. Sindre G Hilstad in the Norwegian Aviation Association is concerned about the development of spoofing Photo: Private – In the extreme, this could threaten flight safety if a dangerous situation arises due to spoofing, says section leader of the Aviation Safety Committee in the Norwegian Aviation Association, Sindre G. Hilstad. – In many different types of aircraft, the GPS receiver is an important supplier of data about position and time to several different systems on board, he explains. Graphics: LOTTE CAMILLA HOLST-HANSEN / news What is spoofing? A spoofing attack attempts to fool a satellite receiver by sending out fake signals made to look like normal signals, or by sending signals captured at a different place or time. Spoofing attacks are generally more difficult to detect as attackers create fake signals that look like normal signals. These false signals are difficult to distinguish from normal signals, and thus confuse the aircraft’s calculation of position, navigation and time. This means that false signals can be modified in such a way that the receiver thinks the position is somewhere other than where it actually is, or to be in the right place but at a different time. A common form of a spoofing attack, often called a “carry-off attack”, begins by sending out signals synchronized with the normal signals. The strength of the false signals is then gradually increased and weakens the normal signals. Although GPS is one of the most common navigation systems, it has been shown to have critical vulnerabilities against spoofing attacks. GPS satellite signals have been shown to be vulnerable due to the signals’ relatively weak strength at the Earth’s surface, making GPS signals easy targets for spoofing attacks. Although the systems are considered reliable, there are currently no ways to protect the systems, signals or secure aircraft against malicious spoofing attacks. Source: Wkikpedia – Spoofing is thus a more serious type of attack that can affect GPS receivers, and in short is about the illegal use of false and powerful signals to trick or manipulate the receiver into thinking that it is in a different place and in a another time, he says. The EU wants GPS navigation GPS is largely a primary navigation aid for civil aviation today, and will become even more important in the coming years due to the EU’s goal to base most aircraft navigation on GPS from 2030. The dark areas on the navigation map shows ongoing spoofing attacks Photo: Thor-Albert Frøsland / news Spoofing of civil air traffic has been known as a threat for several years, but at the same time considered to be unlikely compared to blocking of signals, so-called jamming, at least in Europe. Despite the fact that spoofing requires more resources and expertise than jamming, according to the Norwegian Aviation Association, it is increasing in scope. Jamming in Norway The red fields on the map of Eastern Finnmark show high activity of GPS interference on the last day of June this year. Photo: gpsjam.org In Norway, the National Communications Authority, Nkom, monitors signals. They experience daily that the GPS signals are disturbed by blocking, so-called jamming. – Interference with GPS signals should not occur and therefore it is serious, says John-Eivind Velure in Nkom Photo: NKOM – We have seen that GPS interference has increased, especially in Finnmark and after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine from Russia. Now it is present daily, but in higher air layers, says John-Eivind Velure, acting director of Nkom. Nkom assumes that the jamming of the signals in Finnmark comes from Russia. Velure says that in Norwegian airspace they have so far not detected spoofing of the GPS signals. More work for the airlines When an aircraft is exposed to spoofing, all instruments in the cockpit must be checked for errors and recalibrated before the aircraft can take off again. – Spoofing leads to extra work for the pilots and technicians, says SAS assistant fleet commander Patrik Ekenbratt Ågren, as the instruments must be checked to rule out technical errors. Photo: SAS – Spoofing can be compared to cheating. In contrast to jamming, spoofing is an intellectual way of tricking the recipient into thinking it is somewhere else, explains SAS assistant fleet manager Patrik Ekenbratt Ågren. – You simulate, pretending to be a GPS signal, but have added a small adjustment to the coordinates that makes you think you are somewhere else than you are, he explains. – In the case of spoofing, another navigation system takes over before the aircraft’s position is affected. GPS navigation can become vulnerable Spoofing is a difficult technique and it requires a lot of knowledge to be able to spoof. The fact that the EU aims to base most flight navigation in Europe on GPS from 2030 worries Norwegian captain Richard Helskog. news meets him in the cockpit of the Boeing plane before he takes passengers and colleagues from Oslo down to Nice in France. It’s a flight over Western Europe, where spoofing doesn’t happen. He has studied the development and has written an exam paper at Nord University which, among other things, deals with spoofing. Richard Helskog is captain of Norwegian. He questions the soundness of betting exclusively on GPS as aircraft navigation in the EU. Photo: Thor-Albert Frøsland / news – Air traffic is increasing in volume and the use of GPS means that shorter and more efficient routes can be flown, which among other things leads to less greenhouse gas emissions. But how sensible is it to become so dependent on GPS signals, he asks. He emphasizes that the planes are equipped with other options for navigation, including inertial navigation, a navigation system that does not depend on signals from outside. The downside to that is that it is less accurate. He concludes by reminding that airplanes have been in the air for over a hundred years and ground-based radio stations are also a good help if the instruments fail. Hello, Thank you for reading this far. I write about technology and aviation. If there is a topic you think I should be interested in, I would be happy to hear from you. Published 11.07.2024, at 07.35
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Planes are attacked by enemy signals – lose contact – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
