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| Is this the future of the 7th Fleet as China hacks their guidance systems? |
It appears the Peoples Republic of China [PRC] is conducting cyber warfare against the
US 7th Fleet; this occurs while Obama allies Comey and Mueller [and the "News Media"] divert attention from this situation by attacking President Trump as a dupe of the Russians -- charges which have no supporting evidence, but which are critical to diverting attention from
China's hostile attempts to control the Pacific, initiated by Obama's foreign support mechanism in China, which, in previous posts, was documented.
What better way than to neutralize the US Navy 7th Fleet -- now forced to stand down
by the Commander of the Pacific Fleet.
Here's a brief summary of these cyber attack instances, each one seemingly an accident attributable to the "negligence" of the US Navy ship captain. In fact, in each instance, the GPS software of both the US Navy and the commercial ships was highjacked by "unknown" hackers. Also reportedly attacked was the Aegis Combat System and passive electronic scanned array radar. [Aegis has come under considerable criticism for its vulnerabilities -- now visibly exploited by the Chinese]
Most recently, in June 2017, a huge container ship abruptly altered course, turned, and smashed headlong into a US Navy destroyer, killing multiple sailors. The container ship then sailed away.
by the Commander of the Pacific Fleet.
Here's a brief summary of these cyber attack instances, each one seemingly an accident attributable to the "negligence" of the US Navy ship captain. In fact, in each instance, the GPS software of both the US Navy and the commercial ships was highjacked by "unknown" hackers. Also reportedly attacked was the Aegis Combat System and passive electronic scanned array radar. [Aegis has come under considerable criticism for its vulnerabilities -- now visibly exploited by the Chinese]
Most recently, in June 2017, a huge container ship abruptly altered course, turned, and smashed headlong into a US Navy destroyer, killing multiple sailors. The container ship then sailed away.
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| Abrupt U-Turn to collide with USS Fitzgerald, then proceeds to home port |
A full investigation revealed no rationale for the failure of either crew or officers to recognize the collision course until the impact was imminent! After all, the protocols for communication between the two ships had been followed precisely, giving each a wide berth of the other.
Were this the ONLY such incident, we would presume the cause was mutual negligence by the captains and crews of both ships. However, digging into recent history, we have found a number of similar incidents in this region with US Navy ships seemingly the target. In each case, the US [and other nationality] ship loses control of its navigation precision, and ends up in a collision course.
1) 31 January 2017: Guided Missile Cruiser, USS Antietam
Mission: anti-submarine warfare to anti-balillistic missile defense,
ran aground off the coast of Japan, spilling 1,00 gallons of hydraulic fuel.
No injuries;
The investigation provided no explanation for the incident.
Captain relieved of his command.
2) 08 May 2017: Guided Missile Cruiser, USS Lake Champlain
Mission: anti-submarine warfare to anti-balillistic missile defense
collided with a South Korean fishing boat,
No injuries.
The investigation provided no explanation for the incident.
Captain relieved of command.
3) June 2017: Arleigh Burke - class Destroyer USS Fitzgerald
Mission: Electronic Warfare, anti-submarine, Torpedo Counter-measures, Vertical Missile Launch Systemwith 90 Missiles
collided with ACX Crystal, Philippine flagged container ship
Seven sailors killed, undisclosed number of injuries. Captain's cabin was crushed!
Captain relieved of command
4) 20 August 2017: Guided Missile Destroyer, USS McCain
Mission: Anti-Submarine, anti-missile, anti-anti-aircraft, and anti-surface warfare operations
collided with the 600 foot long Liberian-registered merchant vessel Alnic MC;
No injuries aboard the Alnic MC; 15 casualties [10 confirmed dead] aboard the USS McCain,
The investigation has {so afar] provided no explanation for the incident.
Captain relieved of command.
Commander, 7th Fleet relieved of command.
COMMON DENOMINATORS:
1) 7th Fleet -- Mission,
a) regional security
b) first response against missile attacks against US [e.g., by North Korea]
c) Protection of Pacific Island US/Allied bases [e.g., Guam]
2) 7th Fleet Navy Captains relieved:
a) remove experienced commanders
b) destroy morale
3) Test of USN cyber-security
A related article seems to have the answer, and discloses a threat far greater than North Korea's ICBM!
1) 7th Fleet -- Mission,
a) regional security
b) first response against missile attacks against US [e.g., by North Korea]
c) Protection of Pacific Island US/Allied bases [e.g., Guam]
2) 7th Fleet Navy Captains relieved:
a) remove experienced commanders
b) destroy morale
3) Test of USN cyber-security
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| PLA Unit 61398 |
A related article seems to have the answer, and discloses a threat far greater than North Korea's ICBM!
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GPS SPOOFING
By: David Hambling [New Scientist]
Reports of satellite navigation problems in the Black Sea suggest that Russia may be testing a new system for spoofing GPS, New Scientist has learned. This could be the first hint of a new form of electronic warfare available to everyone from rogue nation states to petty criminals.
Reports of satellite navigation problems in the Black Sea suggest that Russia may be testing a new system for spoofing GPS, New Scientist has learned. This could be the first hint of a new form of electronic warfare available to everyone from rogue nation states to petty criminals.
On 22 June, the US Maritime Administration filed a seemingly bland incident report. The master of a ship off the Russian port of Novorossiysk had discovered his GPS put him in the wrong spot – more than 32 kilometres inland, at Gelendzhik Airport.
After checking the navigation equipment was working properly, the captain contacted other nearby ships. Their AIS traces – signals from the automatic identification system used to track vessels – placed them all at the same airport. At least 20 ships were affected.
While the incident is not yet confirmed, experts think this is the first documented use of GPS misdirection – a spoofing attack that has long been warned of but never been seen in the wild.
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| Drone Jamming |
Todd Humphreys, of the University of Texas at Austin, has been warning of the coming danger of GPS spoofing for many years. In 2013, he showed how a superyacht with state-of-the-art navigation could be lured off-course by GPS spoofing.
“The receiver’s behaviour in the Black Sea incident was much like during the controlled attacks my team conducted,” says Humphreys.
“The receiver’s behaviour in the Black Sea incident was much like during the controlled attacks my team conducted,” says Humphreys.
Humphreys thinks this is Russia experimenting with a new form of electronic warfare. Over the past year, GPS spoofing has been causing chaos for the receivers on phone apps in central Moscow to misbehave. The scale of the problem did not become apparent until people began trying to play Pokemon Go. The fake signal, which seems to centre on the Kremlin, relocates anyone nearby to Vnukovo Airport, 32 km away. This is probably for defensive reasons; many NATO guided bombs, missiles and drones rely on GPS navigation, and successful spoofing would make it impossible for them to hit their targets.
But now the geolocation interference is being used far away from the Kremlin.
Some worry that this means that spoofing is getting easier. GPS spoofing previously required considerable technical expertise. Humphreys had to build his first spoofer from scratch in 2008, but notes that it can now be done with commercial hardware and software downloaded from the Internet.
Some worry that this means that spoofing is getting easier. GPS spoofing previously required considerable technical expertise. Humphreys had to build his first spoofer from scratch in 2008, but notes that it can now be done with commercial hardware and software downloaded from the Internet.
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| Easy to hack from 20,000 miles away |
If the hardware and software are becoming more accessible, nation states soon won’t be the only ones using the technology. This is within the scope of any competent hacker. There have not yet been any authenticated reports of criminal spoofing, but it should not be difficult for criminals to use it to divert a driverless vehicle or drone delivery, or to hijack an autonomous ship. Spoofing will give everyone affected the same location, so a hijacker would just need a short-ranged system to affect one vehicle.
But Humphreys believes that spoofing by a state operator is the more serious threat. “It affects safety-of-life operations over a large area,” he says. “In congested waters with poor weather, such as the English Channel, it would likely cause great confusion, and probably collisions.”
Last says that the Black Sea incident suggests a new device capable of causing widespread disruption, for example, if used in the ongoing dispute with Ukraine.
“My gut feeling is that
this is a test of a system
which will be used in anger
at some other time.”
More on these topics:
