GPS spoofing at IGIA: A wake-up call for national security

The disruption at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), where more than 800 flights were delayed or diverted following an alleged GPS-spoofing incident, is a wake-up call for India's aviation and communication systems.

- SHUBHENDU PARTH [OPENING NOTE]

The fact that the office of the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is directly overseeing the investigation underscores the seriousness of this threat and the growing strategic concern around satellite-based navigation and timing.

GPS and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) underpin not only aircraft navigation but also other critical communication infrastructure, including telecom networks, financial exchanges, data centres, power grids, and supply chain logistics. In a spoofing attack, rogue agents transmit counterfeit satellite signals that override authentic ones, causing receivers to calculate false positions or times.