Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Military Space News .




UAV NEWS
University of Texas at Austin researchers demonstrate first 'spoofing' of UAVs
by Staff Writers
Austin TX (SPX) Jul 11, 2012


File image.

A University of Texas at Austin research team successfully demonstrated for the first time that the GPS signals of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or drone, can be commandeered by an outside source - a discovery that could factor heavily into the implementation of a new federal mandate to allow thousands of civilian drones into the U.S. airspace by 2015.

Cockrell School of Engineering Assistant Professor Todd Humphreys and his students were invited by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to attempt the demonstration in White Sands, New Mexico in late June. Using a small but sophisticated UAV along with hardware and software developed by Humphreys and his students, the research team repeatedly overtook navigational signals going to the GPS-guided vehicle.

Known as "spoofing," the technique creates false civil GPS signals that trick the vehicle's GPS receiver into thinking nothing is amiss - even as it steers a new navigational course induced by the outside hacker.

Because spoofing fools GPS receivers' on both their location and time, some fear that most GPS-reliant devices, infrastructure and markets are vulnerable to attacks. That fear was underscored - but not proven - when a U.S. military drone disappeared over Iran late last year and showed up a week later, intact, and in the care of Iranians who claimed to have brought the vehicle down with spoofing.

The recent demonstration by University of Texas at Austin researchers is the first known unequivocal demonstration that commandeering a UAV via GPS spoofing is technically feasible.

"I think this demonstration should certainly raise some eyebrows and serve as a wake-up call of sorts as to how safe our critical infrastructure is from spoofing attacks," said Milton R. Clary, a senior Department of Defense (DoD) Aviation Policy Analyst at Overlook Systems Technologies, which is working with the federal government to develop programs that identify and mitigate spoofing attacks.

Humphreys said his research team wanted to demonstrate the potential risks associated with spoofing early on in the Federal Aviation Administration's task to write the mandated rules that will allow government and commercial drones in the U.S. airspace by 2015.

"We're raising the flag early on in this process so there is ample opportunity to improve the security of civilian drones from these attacks, as the government is committed to doing," Humphreys said.

Prior to the White Sands demonstration, Humphreys and his students worked with university athletics officials to perform a trial run at the Darrell K. Royal stadium.

High school students visiting campus for the university's My Introduction to Engineering summer camp watched the demonstration and were able to ask Humphreys and his students questions about their work.

Humphreys began the research on GPS security prior to joining The University of Texas at Austin three years ago, but he said the research received a crucial boost of momentum and financial support from the university and the Cockrell School of Engineering.

"What's great at The University of Texas at Austin is this structure and culture in place that supports incoming professors with the funds to do risky types of research - the kind that's so bold and forward-thinking that it might not have an outside sponsor to fund it yet," Humphreys said.

"It's a distinct and valuable trait of the university that benefits me, my students and the types of research we can pursue."

The interdisciplinary research coupled undergraduate and graduate students from aerospace engineering and electrical and computer engineering; specifically, from the Center for Space Research and the Wireless Networking and Communications Group. Over the course of the project, students designed hardware and software, and learned to improvise on the spot when things didn't always go their way.

"During the demonstration at White Sands I was so impressed by how resourceful my students were in the face of technical setbacks we had in the beginning," Humphreys said. "They kept a steady hand and we prevailed in the end, which really showed me the flexibility of these young and bright minds."

Daniel Shepard, an aerospace engineering graduate student who lead the UAV spoofing effort, said he was grateful for the opportunity to do the hands-on research beginning when he was an undergraduate student.

"It's rewarding to lead research that has an impact on improving national security, and, on a personal level, this specific project had a lot of value for me because I was working on things, like software development, that I typically wouldn't be involved with as an aerospace student," Shepard said.

"The unique fusion of electrical engineering and aerospace engineering has been very valuable for cultivating my engineering expertise."

During the spoofing demonstration at White Sands, the research team took control of a hovering UAV from about a kilometer away. Next year, they plan to perform a similar demonstration on a moving UAV from 10 kilometers away.

.


Related Links
University of Texas at Austin
UAV News - Suppliers and Technology






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








UAV NEWS
UAVForge Reveals Challenge Of Developing Perch And Stare UAV
Washington DC (SPX) Jul 11, 2012
DARPA's UAVForge, a crowdsourcing competition to design, build and manufacture an advanced small unmanned air vehicle (UAV), set out to determine if a loosely-connected community of UAV enthusiasts could develop a militarily relevant back-pack portable UAV with specific capabilities. By using a crowdsourcing design approach, the effort sought to inspire innovation and creative thought by lowerin ... read more


UAV NEWS
Raytheon reveals new missile defense system architectural analysis capability

Raytheon awarded $636 million for Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle

Israel-U.S. drill will boost missile plans

U.S., Israel map out joint missile plan

UAV NEWS
U.S. Navy Awards Lockheed Martin Contract for Additional VLA Missiles

Unique MEADS Mobile Testing Capability Arrives At White Sands Missile Range

New Raytheon Standard Missile factory nears completion in Alabama

Norway fires first ground-based Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile from NASAMS launcher

UAV NEWS
University of Texas at Austin researchers demonstrate first 'spoofing' of UAVs

UAVForge Reveals Challenge Of Developing Perch And Stare UAV

Northrop Grumman, U.S. Navy Establish Fire Scout Training Center in Florida

Pakistan civilian deaths from US drones 'lowest since 2008'

UAV NEWS
Raytheon Advanced Tactical System readies for 2.0 launch

Lockheed Martin Selected to Manage Major Defense Information Systems Network Operations

Lockheed Martin Selected to Deliver Major Improvements to DoD's ISR Information Sharing Capabilities

Boeing FAB-T Demonstrates Communications with On-orbit AEHF Satellite

UAV NEWS
Ex-US commander McChrystal calls for reviving draft

Boeing Completes Wind Tunnel Tests on Silent Eagle Conformal Weapons Bay

Taiwan, US to sign fighter radar contract: report

Portuguese armor vehicle to test in Brazil

UAV NEWS
U.N. blasted for using security firms

NGOs complain at being excluded from UN arms talks

Rolls-Royce wins $183 mln US army contract

UN leader condemns lack of regulation for arms trade

UAV NEWS
China, Japan in new spat over disputed islands

China becoming 'more aggressive': Philippines

Clinton on landmark visit to Laos

Clinton to make landmark visit to Laos

UAV NEWS
Ferroelectricity on the Nanoscale

Unprecedented subatomic details of exotic ferroelectric nanomaterials

Tiny bubbles snap carbon nanotubes like twigs

Nanodiamonds cut through dirt to bring back 'bling' to low temperature laundry




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement