04 January 2013

On the Digging of Cyber Holes: The NextGen Air Traffic Control System


Last year, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin demonstrated a proof of concept capability to hijack an unmanned drone by spoofing its Global Positioning System (GPS) components.  In effect, the spoofing sent a false positioning signal to the drone.  Using less than $1000 worth of gear, the UT students were able to the satellite signal used by an unmanned aircraft to know where it is.  Because the spoofed data looks just like the data coming down from GPS satellites, the drone’s onboard computer doesn’t realize that its navigation data is wrong.  And, voila — the attacker has complete control.

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NextGen is an initiative of the FAA – they plan to replace the existing radar-based air traffic control infrastructure with a system that relies exclusively on GPS signals.  The transition is supposed to be complete by 2025.    In many ways the prospect of a transition is fundamentally good.  The new technology will improve air safety (planes will know where they are more precisely) and efficiency (aircraft will be able to take shorter routes through airspace).   Money will be saved and less fuel will be burned.  NextGen is even good for the environment.

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