Shift5 — an onboard operational data company — has released the Shift5 GPS integrity module, a platform-agnostic solution for military, aviation, rail, maritime and space applications.

With real-time access and analysis of onboard data, the module assesses changes in navigational position through multi-faceted anomaly detection methods, which alert operators to GPS spoofing attacks as they happen.

Using data collected from onboard systems, the module uses algorithmic position analysis to identify significant position deviations and GPS data validation to verify GPS information accuracy. Discrepancies or deviations that indicate tampering trigger an immediate notification, allowing operators to initiate standard operating procedures (SOPs) rapidly and accurately.

The Shift5 GPS Integrity Module is designed for cross-platform deployment, across commercial and military planes, locomotives, vessels and aircraft, as well as on other critical systems such as radar, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and weapon guidance systems. It seamlessly integrates with existing platforms and can deploy directly to onboard hardware.

GPS spoofing poses significant threats to national defense and commercial transportation systems, from navigational errors to compromised operational safety — especially in contested or congested environments.

“We are in an era of electronic warfare, defined by the use of hybrid threats on the battlefield,” said Egon Rinderer, CTO, Shift5.  “The use of cyber-physical weaponry isn’t restricted to one particular theater of conflict and isn’t aimed toward military targets alone…The answer to how we combat these types of GPS attacks comes down to data. Observability into onboard data quantifies the risk posed by GPS spoofing.”

This technology offers multi-faceted detection and alerts for GPS spoofing attempts, designed to improve the safety and reliability of navigation systems. It uses physics-based spoofing detection to determine if changes in position are physically possible to provide an effective method for initial spoofing detection. The system analyzes data from all sources to detect subtle, sophisticated spoofing attempts, which is essential for identifying more complex spoofing strategies that may evade traditional detection spoofing techniques.

Shift5 alerts can be integrated into existing SOPs to help preempt contamination of other positioning and navigation data, such as inertial navigation calibration against false GPS data. Metadata about the time, location, duration and estimated position of the attack can be passed for inclusion in threat mapping and other geospatial systems for future route avoidance.