Critical Infrastructure and GPS: It’s Not Just About Navigation

Precise Time and Location for the Functioning of Critical Systems

Modern technologies are more interconnected than we tend to acknowledge. Power grids, financial transactions, mobile networks, and transport – all of these systems require precise synchronisation and location data. GPS provides both: time for the coordination, synchronisation, and safe operation of critical systems, and location for navigation, logistics, transport, and emergency services. These capabilities make GPS a key tool for the functioning of critical infrastructure, where the precision of time and location ensures system reliability.

GPS and Emergency Services

The most obvious use of positioning becomes apparent in life-threatening situations, when an emergency line can precisely locate the caller. For saving human lives and coordinating emergency responses, identifying the exact location is absolutely crucial. Without GPS, these services would be slower and less effective, which can directly affect the outcome of an intervention.

The Invisible Risk

The GPS signal is vulnerable, and its accuracy can be affected by external factors or deliberate interference. Technologies exist that can block the signal (known as jamming) or inject false data (spoofing). Such incidents have already occurred in Europe – for example, in the Baltic Sea region, repeated GPS outages and inaccuracies were recorded that affected aircraft navigation and could have caused an aviation disaster. Norway has had similar experiences, where GPS was disrupted during military exercises. Although these were temporary situations, they demonstrated the sensitivity of modern systems to the failure of a single, often overlooked element.

What This Would Mean in Practice

An ordinary person would primarily notice a short-term GPS disruption as a non-functioning navigation system. Behind the scenes, however, broader impacts on critical infrastructure could occur – for instance, degraded mobile service quality, logistics delays, problems in the energy sector and financial transactions, or slower emergency service response times. “Building critical infrastructure resilience today also means the ability to respond to the failure of systems such as GPS. It is precisely diversification and preparedness that are key to its safe operation,” says Tibor Straka, President of the Critical Infrastructure Association of the Slovak Republic.

Searching for Solutions

Experts are therefore increasingly focusing on how to reduce this dependency. Solutions include, for example, the use of alternative time and location sources, terrestrial systems, or the combination of multiple technologies. System resilience is essential – that is, the ability to function even in the event of a single source failure. Diversification is proving to be a key principle of critical infrastructure security.

The discussion on critical infrastructure often centres on visible threats – cyberattacks or physical damage. Less attention, however, is paid to these “silent dependencies” on precise location and time. Raising awareness of them is important not only for experts but also for the general public. A better understanding of how a country’s critical infrastructure works can foster greater resilience and preparedness for unexpected situations. Key roles are often played by invisible elements such as precise time and location from satellites, which enable coordination, security, and the reliable operation of interconnected systems. Their absence or disruption can have a significant impact on everyday operations, even though the average user rarely realises it.

Did You Know…?

•       GPS was originally a military technology developed by the United States Department of Defense.

•       Autonomous vehicles rely on GPS for safe driving and obstacle avoidance.

•       GPS is used by smartphone applications, for example to tag the location on photographs, and it is also employed in sports watches for performance tracking.

•       Geology uses GPS to monitor movements of the Earth’s crust and to predict earthquakes.

GPS is an inseparable part of critical infrastructure and, at the same time, an inconspicuous yet fundamental element of many aspects of our everyday lives. Even a short-term GPS disruption can have a significant impact on the continuity of essential services provided by critical entities. That is precisely why it is important to pay increased attention to GPS and its security.