EASA, IATA partner to counter GPS spoofing, jamming threat

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency and the International Air Transport Association jointly hosted a workshop to combat GPS spoofing and jamming. The pair announced on Jan. 26 that the workshop concluded that interference with satellite-based services providing information on the precise position of an aircraft can threaten aviation safety and offered an opinion on risk mitigation. EASA and IATA said that mitigating the risks of GPS spoofing and jamming requires short-, medium- and long-term measures, starting with the sharing of incident information and solutions.RELATED STORIES:GPS spoofing attacks continue across Middle East, grad student identifies sourceReports of GPS spoofing in Middle East rising, FAA issues risk warning "GNSS systems offer tremendous advantages to aviation in increasing the safety of operations in a busy shared airspace," EASA Acting Executive Director Luc Tytgat said. "But we have seen a sharp rise in attacks on these systems, which poses a safety risk. EASA is tackling the risk specific to these new technologies. We immediately need to ensure that pilots and crews can identify the risks and know how to react and land safely. In the medium term, we will need to adapt the certification requirements of the navigation and landing systems. For the longer term, we need to ensure we are involved in the design of future satellite navigation systems. Countering this risk is a priority for the Agency." The workshop agreed on measures to make Positioning, Navigation and Timing services provided by Global Navigation Satellite Systems more resilient. This includes reporting and sharing GNSS interference event data. In Europe reporting event data would occur through the European Occurrence Reporting Scheme and EASA's Data4Safety program. This is a global problem and it is important to gather all pertinent information together by connecting the databases like IATA's Flight Data Exchange or Eurocontrol EVAIR. This topic will be included in discussions among interested stakeholders and launched after the workshop. Guidance from aircraft manufacturers will ensure aircraft operators are properly equipped to manage jamming and spoofing situations. The EASA will alert any relevant stakeholders, like airlines, air navigation service providers, the manufacturing industry and airports about any attacks. The industry must have a Minimum Operational Network of traditional navigation aids to ensure there is a conventional backup for the GNSS navigation in case of an attack. Jamming and spoofing incidents have become an increasing threat in recent years. These attacks threaten the integrity of PNT services in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. GNSS is a service based on satellite constellations, such as GPS in the U.S. and Galileo in the EU. Jamming will block a signal but spoofing will send false information to the receiver on the aircraft. These disruptions threaten many industries that rely on precise geolocation services, like aviation. These attacks fall under the domain of Cybersecurity and EASA has developed a toolkit for this type of safety threat. The National Aviation Authorities in Europe tasked EASA with taking measures to counter the growing risk.GPS Spoofing graphic from Safran Workshop participants shared personal experiences to deepen their understanding of the threat. Many attendees agreed on the serious need to collectively work to tackle the issue soon. Over 120 participants from airlines, manufacturers, system suppliers ANSPs and institutions joined the event, held in Cologne on Jan. 25. "Airlines are seeing a significant rise in incidents of GNSS interference," IATA Director General Willie Walsh said. "To counter this, we need coordinated collection and sharing of GNSS safety data; universal procedural GNSS incident guidance from aircraft manufacturers; a commitment from States to retain traditional navigation systems as backup in cases where GNSS are spoofed or jammed. In actioning these items, the support and resources of EASA and other governmental authorities are essential. And airlines will be critical partners. And whatever actions are taken, they must be the focal point of the solution as they are the front line facing the risk."