Agencies on Alert After Surge in GPS Spoofing Cases Reported Nationwide: Officials
Following reports near Delhi Airport, multiple ministries and national security agencies coordinate to investigate growing GPS spoofing threats across India.
New Delhi, Nov 11 — India’s security and aviation agencies are jointly investigating a possible surge in GPS spoofing incidents across the country, officials confirmed, after reports emerged of suspicious activity near Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport last week.
“The civil aviation ministry is studying the patterns and maintaining detailed data of spoofing incidents reported nationwide,” an official familiar with the development said.
According to multiple sources, the case is being directly monitored by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, who recently convened a meeting with the civil aviation and IT ministries to assess the situation.
GPS spoofing is a cyber threat that sends fake satellite signals to mislead navigation systems, showing incorrect positions, speeds, or times. Unlike jamming which blocks GPS signals spoofing feeds false but credible navigation data to aircraft, posing serious safety risks.
Officials said the National Cybersecurity Coordinator, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) are part of the ongoing probe. “Similar incidents have been reported globally, but this one is being treated with utmost seriousness,” a senior IT ministry official noted.
Airlines have also reported GPS interference near Amritsar a new area of concern. In response, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a circular in November 2023 mandating airlines to report all interference cases.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol earlier informed Parliament that between November 2023 and February 2024, 465 incidents of flight disruptions linked to GPS interference were recorded, mostly near Amritsar and Jammu.
Authorities have since stepped up surveillance, issued Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) in high-risk zones, and intensified inter-agency coordination to safeguard India’s aviation network from cyber and navigational threats.
