[ntp:questions] GPS Jammers in Use by Criminals - Warping Time for Fraud Suggested

jimp at specsol.spam.sux.com jimp at specsol.spam.sux.com
Thu Feb 23 19:43:13 UTC 2012


Richard B. Gilbert <rgilbert88 at comcast.net> wrote:
> On 2/22/2012 5:16 PM, David Woolley wrote:
>> An article in the Metro, the free morning paper on the London commuter
>> transport network, suggests that criminals may be using GPS jamming
>> equipment to warp the time on financial systems to allow the commission
>> of fraud.
>>
> GPS is not the only source of time!
> 
> In the U.S. 60 cycle Alternating Current is the standard and the source
> of time.  It's not going to give you the nanoseconds but very few people 
> could even explain what a nanosecond is let alone needing nanosecond 
> resolution.

There are very few civilian systems where absolute time accuracy greater
than 1 second is an operational requirement and none that I can think of
where sub-microsecond absolute time accuracy is an operational requirement.

>> Although I can't find the source of that article, the BBC has an
>> article, presumably from the same underlying source, addressing another
>> point in that that article, that GPS jammers are increasingly being used
>> to defeat GPS based car tracking systems.
> 
> If anyone wants to track my car's location, you're welcome.  And I hope 
> that no one dies of boredom!

In this case what is being jammed is position, not time, and this is so
smarter car thieves can defeat systems like LoJack.

This is a much easier case as all that has to be jammed is the GPS in the
car being stolen.




More information about the questions mailing list