’Spoofed’ GPS signals can be countered, researchers show

From cars to commercial airplanes to military drones, global positioning system (GPS) technology is everywhere - and Cornell researchers have known for years that it can be hacked, or as they call it, "spoofed." The best defense, they say, is to create countermeasures that unscrupulous GPS spoofers can't deceive. Researchers led by Mark Psiaki, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, got to test their latest protections against GPS spoofing during a Department of Homeland Security-sponsored demonstration last month in the New Mexico desert at the White Sands Missile Range. The much-publicized June 19 demo of a mini helicopter's GPS signal being spoofed was led by Todd Humphreys, Ph.D. '08, now an assistant professor at the University of Texas, Austin. Humphreys, who designed a sophisticated GPS spoofing system as an outgrowth of his Cornell Ph.D. and postdoctoral studies, also testified before Congress July 19 on the threat of GPS spoofing.