UT researchers show how easy it is to spoof unencrypted GPS signals used by drones
(Phys.org) -- Professor Todd Humphreys of the University of Texas is making a lot of people nervous. First he and his team demonstrated their ability to circumvent the signals a drone flying over the university stadium was using to plot its course, causing it to nearly crash into the ground, before suddenly saving it from certain destruction. And as if that wasnt enough to make the point that drones flying using unencrypted GPS signals are vulnerable to spoofing, surely another demonstration he and his team gave for representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Homeland Security drove the point home. They were very easily able to fool a drone in a test at White Sands Missile Range, with an inexpensively made device, into following the commands given by his team on multiple occasions.