The rise of GPS jamming - and why you may not be where your smartphone says you are

The National

20 hours ago

As tension between Iran and Israel reached a crescendo last week, people in countries throughout the Middle East reported their smartphones had changed time zones to that of Iran.
Several people also noted that apps such as Snapchat and Instagram had changed their locations to Iran.
Although impossible to prove, it is probably the result of Global Positioning Satellite jamming, also known as GPS spoofing.
This is often used for defence and planning purposes, with opposing militaries or groups trying to disrupt signals sent by navigation and location-based systems to gain a strategic advantage.
Iran and Israel have used GPS jamming in the past, and they or proxy groups could be to blame for the jamming. But with so many different entities trying to exert influence in the region at any given time, particularly in the latest conflict, it's almost impossible to figure out who was doing it this time.
While the conflict appears to have ended with a US-orchestrated ceasefire, users are still reporting problems. And it is not just smartphone users who have noticed the glitch.
According to maritime insights and data provider Windward, 'approximately 970 ships per day have experienced Global Positioning Satellite jamming in the Arabian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz' since Israel first attacked Iran about two weeks ago.
In the shipping sector, the interruption of GPS data can mean costly delays that add up quickly.
The International Air Transport Association and EU Aviation Safety Agency have sought in recent months to address the problem as it continues to occur around the world.
But SandboxAQ, which works at the junction of quantum technology and artificial intelligence, says that GPS jamming shows no sign of slowing down.
'We've seen that as the geopolitical climate has evolved, the prevalence and severity of GPS interference has ramped massively," said Luca Ferrara, a manager for SandboxAQ's navigation business unit.
"This has gone from a niche issue to a global one, and we've seen a commensurate increase in interest in our AQNav solution as a result."
SandboxAQ's proprietary system provides an "unjammable" and "terrain agnostic" solution to the problem, the company says.
Mr Ferrara said that the recent GPS jamming incidents in the Middle East, along with similar spoofing incidents affecting ships and aviation around the world, have piqued interest in his company's product.
"We are accelerating our product introduction into the market to meet this urgent need," he told The National.
Jack Hidary, chief executive at SandboxAQ, said that the increasingly prevalent problem of GPS jamming is of great concern in the context of civilian air travel safety, national security and overall defence.
"Jamming is used as a weapon and as a tool to dominate airspace and dominate region and hegemony," he told The National.
Mr Hidary said sometimes militaries will go as far as spoofing their own GPS, known as defensive jamming, as a way to confuse and possibly redirect incoming missiles.
Offensive jamming, he said, involves spoofing other GPS systems to make it more difficult for countries or groups to position airplanes and drones.
Mr Hidary said that GPS spoofing is mostly taking place in areas of Ukraine, Russia, the Arabian Gulf and the Indo-Pacific.
He said the very things that make GPS so easily adopted across technology devices are the same things that make it so brittle and susceptible to jamming.
"A high school student with the right tool can block or jam a GPS," he said.
Homayoun Falakshahi, head of crude oil analysis at the Kpler data firm, said there may be several entities trying to spoof the GPS navigation systems and that their motives could differ.
"Maybe it was the Iranians to make the passage around the Strait of Hormuz less safe, and in turn freight costs would increase and it would have another bullish impact on oil prices," he said during a panel discussion hosted by the Washington Institute.
"Maybe it was the ship operators themselves because they didn't want their location to be seen by Iran, thinking they could get attacked." He noted that GPS spoofing could also cause ships to crash.
Regardless of who is doing the GPS jamming, the inconveniences stemming from it are starting to add up.
A Bahrain Reddit thread shows ample curiosity about the sudden appearance of Iran's time zone on smartphones.
"I left the house a lot earlier than needed to this morning 'cause my phone time was wrong," wrote one user.
"A friend's vehicle tracking system was showing his Bahrain truck on the west coast of Iran," said another Reddit user.
On Facebook, there are also posts from smartphone users in the UAE pointing out the problem, along with speculation as to what the cause might be.
"Tropospheric ducting, usually during temperature inversions, can cause a cell signal to bounce hundreds of miles further than normal, and since you are in a tall building, there are no obstructions between you and Iran. It's totally possible," wrote a user in the Abu Dhabi Expats group.
Another user dropped a link to GPSJam.org, which shows the parts of the world that are experiencing the most discrepancies with GPS data on smartphones and other devices.
While the consequences from GPS spoofing for average smartphone users pale in comparison to the shipping or aviation industry, Mr Hidary said those problems are vast and need to be addressed.
"We all use the same airspace," he said. "We all depend on reliable transportation, either for ourselves travelling and/or for cargo to come in, and inherently we're all dependent on a strong navigation system to make that happen."