Students Steal $80 Million Yacht Using GPS Spoofing

A group of University of Texas students have built and successfully tested a GPS spoofing device. Which is capable of generating fake GPS signals. During the tests, the students managed to "hijack", that is, change the course of the 65-meter Dehler 31 yacht worth $80 million in the Mediterranean Sea by placing equipment on board the vessel. All equipment - a laptop and a small antenna - have a total cost of no more than $ 3,000.

Naturally, the experiment was carried out with the consent of the owners of the yacht. However, the researchers were able to prove that the yacht's equipment is not capable of distinguishing fake GPS signals from real ones. The navigation system worked normally, moving along the course planned by the hackers, which deviated more and more from the original.

  “The ship actually turned, and we all felt it, but the navigation system only showed a straight line,” says Professor Todd Humphreys, who led the student experiment.

In the future, such technologies may be used by sea pirates and attackers to hijack container ships and tankers, as well as enemy drones. The theoretical basis of GPS spoofing is described in more detail in a 2011 scientific paper.

What is GPS spoofing?

This is a way of manipulating GPS signals in order to fool the device and give out false information. For example, if you send out a fake GPS signal that says you are in the middle of the ocean, your phone will display the location at sea level. GPS signal spoofing has become a problem for consumers and organizations that use GPS for navigation and location-based services due to the rise of cybersecurity attacks.

However, this is not something that can be done with a regular cell phone or even an amateur radio - it requires special equipment and training.

GPS spoofing can be used for many purposes, but some of the more popular ways include the following:

Hiding your location from your spouse or partner.

Give the impression that you are in a different place when you are not.

Deceive Uber and Lyft drivers into picking up passengers at bogus locations (for example, at an airport).

Fake GPS to steal money from banks and other financial institutions.

GPS spoofing to give the impression that you are at home when you are away on vacation.