Interesting reading, and somewhat concerning. These signals might be mis-used by "fake news" sites and provoke an international political incident. This story appears in WIRED magazine online Phantom Warships Are Courting Chaos in Conflict Zones
Interesting story about faked AIS signals involving warships
- Thread starter Captain Larry-DH
- Start date
Very interesting. From a navigation standpoint I think this is a key part though - “the fake tracks were all shown as coming from shore-based AIS receivers, with none collected by satellites. Given that real AIS signals from civilian ships near the supposed warship tracks were received by satellites overhead, Bergman believes this shows the fake AIS messages were not generated by actual malicious transmissions. Instead, he thinks they were created in AIS simulator software and then copied into the data stream feeding the AIS websites.”
So someone looking at the AIS data from their radio on the chartplotter probably wouldn’t see the fake ships, unless these attacks mature to use real radio signals broadcast from the same geographic area as the fake targets.
So someone looking at the AIS data from their radio on the chartplotter probably wouldn’t see the fake ships, unless these attacks mature to use real radio signals broadcast from the same geographic area as the fake targets.
Haven't had time to read the article, but I'm not surprised by the lede. A few years back there was a demonstration where a fake gps signal was generated and used to control another yacht using an AP and GPS for navigation.
Unfortunately, even if an incident occurred with fake AIS, too many people will not listen to the facts and jump to unwarranted conclusions, as will politicians with an agenda.
Unfortunately, even if an incident occurred with fake AIS, too many people will not listen to the facts and jump to unwarranted conclusions, as will politicians with an agenda.
It seems there are a couple of ways to do it. There is no security on AIS so what ever is broadcast is taken as the "truth"
One way to do it is spoof the GPS so the ships AIS dutifully repeats the bad GPS info. There seems to be some funny business regarding GPS signals and China's military facilities. So that ships near those facilities report all kinds of crazy positions. You can understand why that might be the case.
You can also intentionally report a bad position like if you were doing something funny like fishing where you shouldn't. There have been instances of ships appearing in the Gulf of Farallones per AIS yet the signal was picked up by a satellite over Africa. So an impossibility. So that goofiness will appear on Marine Traffic or similar sites ( unless they filter out clearly bogus data) and yet won't appear on your chart plotter as the actual transmission is 10,000 miles away.
I think it is rare, you should keep a lookout and not rely totally on any one system
One way to do it is spoof the GPS so the ships AIS dutifully repeats the bad GPS info. There seems to be some funny business regarding GPS signals and China's military facilities. So that ships near those facilities report all kinds of crazy positions. You can understand why that might be the case.
You can also intentionally report a bad position like if you were doing something funny like fishing where you shouldn't. There have been instances of ships appearing in the Gulf of Farallones per AIS yet the signal was picked up by a satellite over Africa. So an impossibility. So that goofiness will appear on Marine Traffic or similar sites ( unless they filter out clearly bogus data) and yet won't appear on your chart plotter as the actual transmission is 10,000 miles away.
I think it is rare, you should keep a lookout and not rely totally on any one system
Fake AIS, Fake News, Fake elections, Fake sex, fake people... When will it all end.
Brings to mind the saying Trust but verify.
Having multiple systems available to identify your position and those around you sure makes sense in this fake everything world.
Hell, right now I believe I am sailing in the waters off of Vancouver Island. I have my AIS off and recently reported seeing a pod of ORCA on the VHF... That should draw a crowd of speed boats seeking a glimpse.
Brings to mind the saying Trust but verify.
Having multiple systems available to identify your position and those around you sure makes sense in this fake everything world.
Hell, right now I believe I am sailing in the waters off of Vancouver Island. I have my AIS off and recently reported seeing a pod of ORCA on the VHF... That should draw a crowd of speed boats seeking a glimpse.