US Cracks Europe GPS Satellite Codes

United Press International ^ | Jul 11, 2006

[Magnum44]

US Cracks Europe GPS Satellite Codes

Brussels (UPI) Jul 11, 2006

U.S. scientists have reportedly cracked the European Union's secret satellite navigation codes. The codes, to be used by the EU's Galileo satellite system, casts doubt the $4.2 billion project will pay for itself through commercial fees, The London Telegraph reported Tuesday. Cornell University Professor Mark Psiaki said he and colleagues cracked the coded data being beamed to Earth by a prototype orbiting satellite.

That, The Telegraph said, is potentially devastating for the EU, which wants to charge high-tech firms license fees to access that data, before they can make and sell compatible navigation devices to the public.

Galileo is to be a European rival to the United States' military-controlled GPS system, which supplies signals without charge. Galileo's designers, however, say it will be more accurate than GPS.

The European Commission said Monday Cornell's success in cracking codes for the prototype is irrelevant, since the final Galileo codes will be different.

Galileo, due to be operational by 2010, is a joint venture of the European Commission, the European Space Agency and private investors, including an arm of the Chinese government.

Source: United Press International

[Magnum44]

The EU wants to market higher accuracy navigation signals that only "authorized" users can get from GPS. The fact that the codes can be cracked is pretty significant. GPS, in its present state can be jammed, but the jammer becomes a target, and a user knows that his receiver is being jammed. Being able to hack the code in Galileo means it can be mislead, deceived. Not something you would want to rely on for military systems, of anything where safety is concerned.

[Peach]

Maybe the NYT should publish the codes.

[taxcontrol]

I wonder, could someone triangulate the EU and the US GPS systems to gain higher precision on their location?

[Seruzawa]

More accurate than US Military GPS? Sure it is.

Another govt sponsored EU boondoggle. Some people never learn.

[theDentist]

Thanks, UPI, for revealing what I am sure is Top Secret intelligence.

[Semper Vigilantis]

So with a bit of (re)programming we could make all missiles that use the EU system head to Tehran or Peking or ...? Sweet.

[nikos1121]

My understanding is that our GPS purposely does not give totally accurate data...for military reasons. If youi notice your GPS in your car is accurate to about 10 to 20 or 30 feet it seems. Our military does have accurate data.

[Magnum44]

Thats correct. You have to have a precise code receiver and be an authorized user to get the higher accuracy.

[Magnum44]

Thats funny, actually. LOL.

[Peach]

:-)

[MarineBrat]

The European Commission said Monday Cornell's success in cracking codes for the prototype is irrelevant, since the final Galileo codes will be different.

Somewhere in America is a 14 year old pimple factory on a Linux box waiting for his 15 minutes of fame.

[muleskinner]

And the TRUE DaVinci code. There, that takes care of the Italians.

[A Balrog of Morgoth]

My understanding is that our GPS purposely does not give totally accurate data...for military reasons. If youi notice your GPS in your car is accurate to about 10 to 20 or 30 feet it seems. Our military does have accurate data.

We used to degrade the unencrypted (open to all users) signals. That ended under clinton, iirc.

The Eurotwits can crow all they want about some marginally better degree of accuracy from their satnav. Irrelevent. DGPS (GPS plus ground stations that correct for signal error) beats any sat only system.

[BigBobber]

Future advertisement: The EU GPS system. In use by terrorists worldwide since 2010.

[Magnum44]

We used to degrade the clocks for all non military users (it was called SA, or selective availability). We no longer do this, but that is different from the precise code signal for authorized users I referred to above.

[InterceptPoint]

I wonder, could someone triangulate the EU and the US GPS systems to gain higher precision on their location?

That is a heck of a good idea.

But I don't think triangulation is quite the term that should be used. With two systems measuring the same location in 3D space it does seem logical that averaging the results in some manner should improve the overall accuracy. Just gotta be.

[george wythe]

It reminds me of a friend of mine breaking the codes of satellite TV. It's quite possible, but it's not legal. Therefore, most customers will pay for the service to avoid legal hassles.

[Gamecock]

I have a Magellan 700. Drove from the Germany (Ramstein area) to southwest England (Salisbury) without looking at a map once. Took me across Belgium, into France to the ferry port at Calais. Landed at Dover.

It will find restaurants by cuisine, hotels, parking garages, historical monuments, and most importantly Esso stations, where I can use gas coupons that allow me to pay US gas prices (in Germany and the Netherlands that is).

I am here to tell you that a GPS has saved my marriage.

[Magnum44]

The types of folks who want to crack these codes aren't concerned about legal services. They would want to cause disruption of service.

[Moose Dung]

Possible I guess, but satellites combined with fixed position terrestrial systems like WAAS does a better job. Remember, distance amplifies even tiny errors. So you put up a ground-based transmitter close to your area of operations and bang, accuracy jumps.

dung.