Digital manipulation of locations of military ships became routine over the last year

Since August 2020 there have been over 100 cases in which the locations of military ships have been faked. It is a serious matter because these kinds of events could cause international incidents

Digital manipulation of locations of military ships became routine over the last year

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

Since August 2020, there have been over 100 cases in which the locations of military ships were faked, according to research carried out by emerging technology magazine Wired. The research found that the locations of the vessels, including a British aircraft carrier and American warships, were faked by manipulating the Automatic Identification System (AIS).  

The locations were faked in a way that showed the vessels operating in disputed waters or in the territorial waters of another country. It is a serious matter because the presence of military vessels in areas where they are not permitted to operate could cause an international incident such as a military clash.   

The research staff discovered the spoofing by comparing the AIS, a GPS-based system, with location statistics that can be verified using various identification models. All of the fake data came from shore-based AIS receivers, while satellites showed the actual locations of the vessels.    

In 2018 and 2019 there were many reports by warships and merchant ships on disruption of their GPS and their AIS locations, especially in the area of the Black Sea.  At that time, Russia was accused of being responsible. Recent findings also indicate disruptions in the area of the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea.    

The researchers did not find evidence directly linking the fake AIS data to any single source, but said that it is reasonable to assume that it is Russia, based on the geographical proximity and on the fact that all of the ships whose locations were faked were from European countries and NATO forces.     

In the cyber war at sea that is slowly but surely developing, the issue of location is certainly a major factor in freedom of navigation and in the ability of the U.S. and European navies to operate freely. Furthermore, Russia (and even China) may use the allegedly fake locations of vessels as a basis for starting a diplomatic or military conflict.