New Delhi, 1 Dec

The government on Monday said GPS spoofing and interference incidents have been reported at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai airports, and the Wireless Monitoring Organisation (WMO) has been directed to identify the source of spoofing.

"Some flights reported GPS spoofing in the vicinity of IGIA, New Delhi, while using GPS-based landing procedures, while approaching on RWY 10. Contingency procedures were used for GPS spoofed flights approaching RWY 10.

"There were no effects on movements of flights, on other runway ends having conventional navigational aids being operational," Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu told Rajya Sabha.

The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital is the country's busiest airport, and RWY refers to the runway.

Global Positioning System (GPS)/ Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) spoofing and jamming refer to attempts to manipulate a user's navigation system by giving false signals.

"Airports Authority of India (AAI) has also requested Wireless Monitoring Organisation (WMO) to possibly identify the source of interference/ spoofing.

"During the high-level meeting, WMO was directed to mobilise more resources to identify the source of spoofing based on approximate spoofing location details shared by DGCA and AAI," Naidu said in a written reply.

WMO comes under the Department of Telecommunications.

After being mandated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to report instances of GPS jamming/ spoofing since November 2023, regular reports are being received from other major airports in the country.

"GNSS interference reports are being received from Kolkata, Amritsar, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai airports," the minister said.

Last month, DGCA asked airlines, pilots and air traffic controllers to report GPS spoofing incidents within 10 minutes of the occurrences, amid recent such incidents at the Delhi airport.

In the written reply, Naidu said Minimum Operating Network (MON), consisting of Conventional (Ground-based) Navigation and Surveillance Infrastructure, are retained in accordance with global best practices.

India is also participating in global platforms to keep itself abreast of the latest methodology and technology for the timely implementation of the same.

To a query, Naidu said the global cybersecurity threats to the aviation sector are in the form of ransomware/ malware.

"To enhance cyber security against global threats, AAI is implementing advanced cyber security solutions for IT networks and infrastructure. These actions have been taken in accordance with the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) and Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) guidelines.

"Cyber security is ensured by continuous upgradation. As the nature and type of the threat change, new protective measures are being taken," he added.