Diana Furchtgott-Roth
The West may be divided on tariffs, but all countries can agree that protecting global navigation satellite systems from interference from China, Russia and Iran is a matter of extreme importance. Disruptions would pose an immense economic and national security threat, costing trillions of dollars daily, dwarfing any market disruptions from tariffs.
Global navigation satellite systems are free services that send positioning, timing and navigation systems to phones, banks and other electric utilities. America has the global positioning system (GPS), Europe has Galileo and China has Bei Dou. But these systems are vulnerable. They depend on satellites, which can be damaged by electromagnetic storms or military attacks. Even with the satellites intact, hacking incidents proliferate, using inexpensive, easily available hardware.
Both China and Russia have shown that they have the capacity to take down Western satellites. The University of Texas student Zach Clements, meanwhile, has traced GPS manipulation to Iran.
The most famous example of hacking took place in 2019, when the British oil tanker Stena Impero was lured into Iranian waters in the Strait of Hormuz while its GPS, “spoofed” by the Iranians, told navigators it was in international waters. The ship was captured and its crew imprisoned in Iran for 10 weeks.
American Innovation Can Counter Russia’s New Threat
GPS is vital, but hacking it has never been easier. The world would do well to heed warnings from Admiral Thad Allen, chairman of the US National Space-based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Advisory Board, on the risks and challenges to the technology.
“Vulnerable to Disruption”
“A great many incidents over the past several years have left no doubt that the system is vulnerable to disruption, both inadvertent and intentional,” Admiral Allen said. “Because so much of our country’s critical infrastructure and supply chains rely on GPS, that infrastructure is itself vulnerable to disruption.”
He is also concerned that America’s GPS is now lagging the capabilities found in Galileo and Bei Dou. » Read More
https://www.heritage.org/china/commentary/the-west-terrifyingly-vulnerable-chinese-hacking-gps