Educational Review: GPS Applications and Vulnerability Implications

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is utilized within various applications of society prevalent in the automotive, power, and even the financial industries. However, the vulnerabilities of the GPS signal should be brought to attention as national infrastructure becomes more dependent on these signals. They in turn will become more susceptible to attacks and illicit tampering. Phasor Measuring Units are one example of a vulnerable piece of equipment used in the power industry. These devices rely on precise timing signals, and any jamming or spoofing attack on these systems could cause significant measurement errors in a power system. However, there are steps that can be taken to prevent and defend against attacks in both future and existing systems.