Why GPS Is Getting Less Reliable — And May Force Us Back To Old-School Maps – WorldCrunch

February 6, 2025

Written by Editor

Image: Shutterstock

What’s new: More coverage in popular media about the vulnerabilities of satnav.

Why it’s important: The issue won’t be addressed unless political leaders are motivated to do so. One way to do that is through popular concern.

What else to know:

  • From toward the end of the article: “By 2030 at the latest, all commercial aircraft in the EU should actually be able to land using satellites. Conventional navigation would only be permitted in emergencies. And yet, pilots think that that’s simply not a good idea. “We need redundancy,” Ahrens says, “the systems must become more resilient.”
  • Glad to see they classified this as a cybersecurity issue. Many folks don’t
  • Let’s all hope we are as cheerful as the young woman in the image above when we no longer have satnav and have to use paper maps.

 

Geopolitics  

Why GPS Is Getting Less Reliable — And May Force Us Back To Old-School Maps

From war zone risks to head-scratching tourists, the manipulation of the GPS navigation system by hackers (jamming and spoofing) can wreak havoc on our modern habits of relying on real-time digital mapping apps. The surest alternative may be going back to paper maps.

HAMBURG — In Cyprus, people can run on water and swim through airports — at least according to their electronic devices.

A jogger from the city of Larnaka reported on the social network Reddit that his Garmin watch suddenly located him in Lebanon after his run. According to his smartwatch, a swimmer who was bathing in the sea off Cyprus swam across the Beirut airport. Cypriot delivery services and taxis are temporarily unable to reach their destinations. Dating apps suddenly seem to suggest Cypriots should start long-distance relationships.

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