Characterization and Localization of GNSS Spoofing Based on Space Observation Data

The global navigation satellite system (GNSS) spoofing is a type of interference that attempts to mislead GNSS receivers to render erroneous position, velocity, and timing information by maliciously manipulating signal and data contents. Over the past two years, the issue of spoofing has become a reality for air and marine transportation. It is thus important to assess and characterize the spoofing events for situational awareness and countermeasures. This article introduces navigation models to analyze position deviation caused by spoofing and proposes a spoofer localization algorithm based on these models. Examples of spoofing incidents observed by the receiver on-board the TRITON satellite are presented, highlighting the complexity and vulnerability associated with such interference. The observation data are utilized to characterize spoofing incidents, validate the navigation models, and demonstrate the localization algorithm. The characterization and localization of GNSS spoofing in space pave the way for a better assessment of the spoofing situation and understanding of the spoofing mechanism, which in turn, lead to the development of spoofing-aware and spoofing-resistant techniques.