New Delhi: An Indian Air Force carrying relief material to earthquake-hit Myanmar last month intercepted ‘GPS spoofing’, and the pilot’s timely action saved the aircraft from any untoward incident, revealed Defence sources, as per PTI. It was not clear if the attempt of GPS spoofing was made on all the six aircraft, but the pilot of the plane which faced the attack did inform all the pilots, the sources added.
GPS spoofing is a type of cyberattack in which the attackers try to confuse the pilot by sending false navigation. This makes them believe they are in wrong place and at times, causes crash like accidents as well. On March 29, India sent the first consignment of relief materials to Myanmar in a C-130 J aircraft. Defence sources told PTI that the pilots reported that the plane’s GPS signal was tampered with when it was in Myanmar’s airspace.A total of six military transport aircraft were sent to Myanmar that had relief materials and a majority of them experienced GPS spoofing, they said.
What Did Pilot Do To Tackle Cyberattack?
One of the pilot faced the GPS spoofing attack and immediately switched to the backup systems, sources in the military establishment said. The pilots activated the backup system called ‘inertial navigation system’ to prevent any significant damage due to the attack.Indian Air Force has not issued any statement on the development. However, on any possible probe, sources said it is practically impossible to investigate such episodes if they take place in foreign airspace.”The GPS spoofing must have been carried out by our adversary in the region,” said a source, quoted PTI. They said after the first aircraft experienced GPS “interference” and “spoofing”, the pilots of other aircraft were sensitised about the same. Sources said they were expecting such a challenge as GPS spoofing is generally reported in conflict zones.