Spotlight

Wardriving Captures Dynamic GPS and Cellular CDMA Signals, December 2010

Austin, TX — Members of the Radionavigation Laboratory went on a full day excursion to capture simultaneous GPS and Cellular CDMA spectrum via the lab’s powerful National Instruments radio frequency signal analyzers. Over 1.5 TB of spectral data were recorded at 37.5 MSps with the goal of characterizing dynamic GPS multipath, exploring tightly-coupled opportunistic navigation, and evaluating GPS jamming mitigation techniques. The data log files are available here for download. Interested parties can request this data for their own post processing needs.For a visual representation of the multipath encounterd, the data can be plotted in Google maps/earth. To see the visuals:1) go to the test listing.2) copy the “http:.// … .kml?rand=99” URL of the test to map3) open Google maps and paste the URL in the search bar

Nextgov: Researcher Reveals GPS Vulnerabilities, October 2010

“GPS timing signals that control the base stations in some cellular networks and other gadgets the size of small refrigerators that power the smart electric grid can fall prey to sophisticated spoofing attacks, according to a University of Texas researcher. Todd Humphreys, an assistant professor at the University of Texas Radionavigation Laboratory, said he successfully spoofed a type of laboratory time reference receiver of the code division multiple access network technology Sprint and Verizon use that relies on GPS time—with a transmitter he built for about $1,000.”

Continue reading the Nextgov article.

MIT Technology Review: Hijacking Satellite Navigation, October 2008

“The Global Positioning System (GPS) lies at the heart of an increasing number of technologies, from vehicle navigation systems to the power grid. And yet, although the military version of GPS includes security features such as encryption, civilian signals are transmitted in the clear. Now, researchers at Cornell University and Virginia Tech have demonstrated a relatively simple way to fool ordinary GPS receivers into accepting bogus signals using a briefcase-size transmitter.”

Continute reading the MIT Technology Review article.