Spotlight

“In June, a 213-foot luxury yacht sailed off the southern coast of Italy, when, suddenly, it veered off course. But this was no sinister act worthy of a spy flick. Instead, a team of researchers from the University of Texas at Austin had deliberately coerced the $80 million vessel from its track, without physically taking the helm.

With the blessing of those aboard, Professor Todd Humphreys and his graduate students employed a technique called “GPS spoofing” to effectively disorient the ship’s positioning system. Changes went undetected by alarms, and the autopilot system shifted the yacht to what it thought was the original course, not one selected by Humphreys’ team.

Watch the PBS NewsHour interview online.

“It must be pretty cool to be one of Todd Humphreys’ engineering students at the University of Texas at Austin. Last year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security dared them to hack into a drone. (Which they did.) And this year, Humphreys and his students went to the Mediterranean to see if they could hijack an $80 million yacht.

It all started when Humphreys was giving a talk about navigation security at SXSW. After the presentation, a man approached him to say how impressed he was with the work Humphreys had done with drones. The man then handed him a card and said, “Do you think you could hijack my superyacht?”

Continue reading the Slate article.

“In a startling experiment a research team from the University of Texas successfully spoofed a ship’s GPS-based navigation system sending the 213-foot yacht hundreds of yards off course — without raising alarms or triggering a hint of the course change on the onboard monitors.

Led by assistant professor Todd Humphreys, the group used equipment what started as a faint ensemble of civil GPS signals. Those signals gradually increased in strength until they overpowered the true GPS signals, enabling them to fool the ship’s navigation system. The team sent the ship through a series of subtle maneuvers that ultimately put it on a parallel course hundreds of meters off its intended track.”

Contine reading the InsideGNSS article.

“A small team of researchers from the University of Texas at Austin recently tricked a 213-foot superyacht off its course using a custom-made GPS device, rendering the $80 million vessel’s electronic maps and charts useless.

“People have come to trust their electronic chart displays,” Todd Humphreys, team leader and assistant professor at UT’s Cockrell School of Engineering, tells NBC News. These electronic chart displays get their information from civilian GPS signals — which are not encrypted. “The signals have a detailed structure, but they don’t have defenses against counterfeiting ” Humphreys says. As a result, he explains, “the concept of GPS spoofing has been known for maybe 20 years.”

A small team of researchers from the University of Texas at Austin recently tricked a 213-foot superyacht off its course using a custom-made GPS device, rendering the $80 million vessel’s electronic maps and charts useless.”

Continue reading the NBC News article.

“One of the world’s foremost academic experts in GPS spoofing—University of Texas assistant professor Todd Humphreys—released a short video on Monday showing how he and his students deceived the GPS equipment aboard an expensive superyacht.

Humphreys conducted the test in the Ionian Sea in late June 2013 and early July 2013 with the full consent of the “White Rose of Drachs” yacht captain. His work shows just how vulnerable and relatively easy it is to send out a false GPS signal and trick the on-board receiver into believing it.”

Continue reading the Ars Technica article.

“The world’s GPS system is vulnerable to hackers or terrorists who could use it to hijack ships—even commercial airliners, according to a frightening new study that exposes a huge potential hole in national security.

Using a laptop, a small antenna and an electronic GPS “spoofer” built for $3,000, GPS expert Todd Humphreys and his team at the University of Texas took control of the sophisticated navigation system aboard an $80 million, 210-foot super-yacht in the Mediterranean Sea. “We injected our spoofing signals into its GPS antennas and we’re basically able to control its navigation system with our spoofing signals,” Humphreys told Fox News.”

Continue reading the Fox News article.

Watch the Special Edition video report.

Additional local Austin coverage:

• KTBC article 
• KVUE article 
• KEYE article 
• KRGV article 
• CBS DFW article

“It’s not just birds and planes in the sky anymore — drones are on the rise. But how much do we know about the flying machines? As the technology progresses, it appears that the aerial devices are also getting smarter.

Drones come in a variety of shapes and sizes that range from the small, radio-controlled devices flown by hobbyists to military machines larger than a human. But there are a few ways to identify and categorize them.”

Contine reading the CBS article that features and interview with Dr. Humphreys.

“Web forums in the U.K. are buzzing about photos depicting a possible weaponized drone in China. Wired Magazine reports experts are pointing to the so called Li-Jian — or Sharp Sword — an Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle. A recent Pentagon report predicts the Chinese military will soon unveil new long-range drones.

Domestic drones are getting more attention from the government in New Jersey. State legislators want to restrict all drone use in the state unless there’s a terrorist attack. A more lenient bill is also being considered. It would allow firefighters and police to use unmanned aerial vehicles.”

Continue listening to the Marketplace audio clip that features and interview with Dr. Humphreys.