An oil tanker collided with the USS John S. McCain near Singapore this week, injuring five sailors, starting a search for ten more missing sailors, and sparking concerns about potential GPS foul-play.
“There’s something more than just human error going on,” says Jeff Stutzman, a chief intelligence officer. “Statistically, it looks very suspicious,” Dr. Humphreys chimes in. GPS spoofing has been on the rise lately, affecting ships in the Black Sea last month.
As fully autonomous ships come online and our reliance on global shipping trade increases, concerns regarding the security of onboard electronic systems are on the rise. “It would be mayhem if the right team came in [the English Channel] and decided to do a spoofing attack.”
Read the full McClatchy article featuring Dr. Humphreys.