After the mysterious disappearance of more than 20 ships off the coast of Novorossiysk and their no less mysterious discovery on land (!), The Western press began to speculate with each other, and experts reported that Russia was testing a new cyber weapon, which would certainly be "used for evil."
The West is alarmed by the emergence of information that Russia has tested the latest cyber weapons on American ships. A number of US and British media outlets published materials that a frightening incident occurred in the Black Sea: on June 22, several dozen crews of American ships noticed that their GPS satellite navigation systems showed completely incorrect data on the position of ships.
So one of the ships of the US Navy, judging by the GPS readings, suddenly found itself 32 km from the real coordinates, on land, in the Russian city of Gelendzhik. Similar oddities were noticed by another 20 ships located near the Russian coast.
U. S. Navy Report
In June, the US Merchant Marine Administration presented a strange report according to which at least 20 ships on tracking devices were 32 kilometers inland, although in fact they were in the Black Sea.
While it seemed at the time to be a sudden glitch in tracking systems, Western experts now speculate that Russia may be developing a new system that will disorient GPS.
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If so, it could be a worrying first step towards a cyber war in which the enemy's movements cannot be tracked, according to the New Scientist building.
The report was compiled by the captain of an American merchant ship off the coast of Novorossiysk:
“GPS devices are periodically unable to receive a GPS signal as they approach the shores of Novorossiysk (Russia). At the moment, the indicator of decrease in the accuracy of determining the position in the horizontal plane (HDOP) is recorded at around 0.8 within 100 m, while the given position is actually 25 nautical miles from here; … I confirm that all ships in this zone (more than 20) faced the same problem."
“An unexplained incident took place in the waters of the Black Sea on June 22 at 44-15.7N, 037-32.9E at 0710 GMT. The incident has not been confirmed. This is most likely about interfering with the transmission of GPS data. Be careful when passing this section,”- says the report of the US Merchant Marine Administration.
A photo was attached to the report:
The Maritime Executive provides a complete dialogue between the ship's captain and the Coast Guard.
After the Coast Guard made sure that there were no anomalies in the GPS signal, space weather and that no equipment testing was underway at the moment, the captain was advised to check the accuracy and serviceability of his GPS devices, since in this area it was supposed to be three meters …
The captain replied:
Thank you for your reply. I confirm that my GPS devices are in good order.
We have carried out a self-test several times, everything is working as usual.
I confirm that all ships in this area (over 20 ships) faced the same problem.
I personally contacted them in the VHF range, all confirm the problem.
Sometimes the device shows the correct location, sometimes it doesn't. GPS sometimes loses position or shows incorrect position (with high HDOP).
For several days, GPS assigned us a position on land (near Gelendzhik airport), but in fact the ship was more than 25 nautical miles away.
Position was correct last night with GPS lost position messages; then the signal returned to normal.
Now the devices again show a categorically wrong position.
Attached are pictures that were taken by me on June 24 at 05:45 uni. UTC time (30 minutes ago).
Note: you can check bytes like MarineTraffic and you will most likely find ships moving side by side over land.
In an interview with New Scientist, experts said they considered the incident the first documented case of intentional GPS disorientation.
Prior to this, it was believed that the greatest threat to GPS is the creation of organized interference, in which the signal from the satellite is masked by noise. But the source of such interference is easy enough to calculate, and therefore eliminate, which cannot be said about disorientation.
David Last, former president of the British Royal Institute of Navigation, told New Scientist: "Organized interference knocks out the receiver, deliberate disorientation makes it lie."
It turned out that some Western experts had warned of such a threat for years.
Back in 2013, Dr. Tod Humphreys, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, demonstrated how you can knock a yacht off course using false GPS signals.
Dr. Humphreys stated that the receiver's behavior in the Black Sea was very similar to the controlled attacks carried out by his team. It was Humphreys who suggested that Russia is testing a new cyber weapon and its use in electronic warfare.
“I have a strong feeling that this invention will be used for evil,” he said.
“Since 2016, some applications for smartphones, including Pokemon Go, have inexplicably redirected users from the Kremlin to Vnukovo Airport, which is just 32 kilometers away. And now these methods of disorientation extend far beyond the Kremlin, says the New Scientist article. Previously, it was believed that the greatest threat to GPS is the creation of organized jamming, in which the signal from the satellite is masked by noise. But the source of such interference is easy enough to calculate, and therefore eliminate, which cannot be said about disorientation.
David Last, former president of the British Royal Institute of Navigation, told New Scientist: "Organized interference knocks out the receiver, deliberate disorientation makes it lie."
It turned out that some Western experts had warned of such a threat for years.
Back in 2013, Dr. Tod Humphreys, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, demonstrated how you can knock a yacht off course using false GPS signals.
Dr. Humphreys stated that the receiver's behavior in the Black Sea was very similar to the controlled attacks carried out by his team. It was Humphreys who suggested that Russia is testing a new cyber weapon and its use in electronic warfare.
“I have a strong feeling that this invention will be used for evil,” he said.
“Since 2016, some applications for smartphones, including Pokemon Go, have inexplicably redirected users from the Kremlin to Vnukovo Airport, which is just 32 kilometers away. And now these methods of disorientation extend far beyond the Kremlin,”says the New Scientist article.