Public Safety During Uncertain Times
In 2025, the global landscape is marked by escalating conflicts, geopolitical rivalries, and emerging technological threats that directly impact public safety worldwide. Two critical areas of concern to Public Safety are cybersecurity attacks and GPS interference—both of which have intensified amid ongoing wars and heightened geopolitical tensions. This Blog explores the impact to Public Safety, particularly the Public Safety Networks and the Systems used to protect the Public.
Current Global Conflicts and Their Cybersecurity Implications
The world faces multiple high-risk conflicts, notably in the Middle East; the protracted war in Ukraine; and rising flashpoints in Asia, including the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea. These conflicts are not confined to physical battlefields but extend into cyberspace, where state-sponsored cyberattacks have surged dramatically.
For example, cyberattacks on Ukraine increased by nearly 70% in 2024, targeting critical infrastructure such as government services and energy sectors to disrupt operations and steal sensitive data. Similarly, cyber operations have intensified against Taiwan and U.S. government systems, aiming to gain economic and military advantages. Finally, multiple rogue states continue to deploy cyberattacks for espionage, financial gain, and regional destabilization.
These cyber threats have evolved beyond traditional hacking to include sophisticated supply chain attacks, AI-powered intrusions, and ransomware campaigns that threaten critical infrastructure and the broader economy. The Public is increasingly caught in the crossfire, with cyber incidents posing systemic risks to public safety and national security.
GPS Interference: Spoofing and Jamming as Emerging Threats
Alongside cyberattacks, GPS interference—through jamming and spoofing—has emerged as a significant public safety hazard. GPS systems underpin navigation, timing, and critical infrastructure operations globally. However, hostile actors have exploited vulnerabilities in GPS signals, causing disruptions that range from inconvenient to deadly.
In 2024, there were as many as 700 daily GPS jamming and spoofing incidents worldwide, concentrated around conflict zones such as the Black Sea, Middle East, Baltic region, and parts of North America and Europe. One tragic example occurred on December 25, 2024, when Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 was misled by GPS spoofing, resulting in a missile strike and the deaths of 38 people.
These attacks are often linked to hybrid warfare tactics, with GPS interference occurring during NATO exercises and military operations in Ukraine and the Baltic states. The United Nations and international aviation authorities have expressed grave concern over the rising frequency of GPS signal disruptions, urging enhanced protections to safeguard civil aviation, maritime navigation, and emergency services.
Given the intertwined nature of geopolitical conflicts, cyber threats, and GPS vulnerabilities, a focused approach is essential to protect public safety and public safety networks. The following are recommended actions to mitigate Cybersecurity and GPS Interference threats.
Strengthen Cybersecurity on Public Safety Networks:
Employ advanced threat detection tools on Public Safety networks to detect and respond to cyber anomalies in real time, enabling rapid mitigation of sophisticated attacks. Specific to Public Safety this means verifying critical information external to the trusted network. Most notably this includes;
Ensure device provided locations for Emergency Services are verified: Verify device provided locations against the network to ensure they have not been tampered with by the device (or the device owner) which is not part of the trusted network.
Verify GPS/GNSS derived locations: Ensure GPS locations used for Emergency Services are not spoofed locations. Spoofed GPS locations can have a significant impact on public safety, especially if Emergency Responders are sent to the wrong location, and potentially into danger.
Use Network provided location from the trusted Network: Trusted Network provided locations should be used for Emergency Services when it is as or more accurate than an untrusted source. Given the location accuracy possible using 5G positioning systems (e.g. UL-AoA and MC-RTT which can achieve <10m accuracy), this is both feasible and recommended as Emergency Service calls move onto the 5G networks.
Enhance GPS Resilience and Interference Detection
Given the critical role GPS provides to Public Safety, it is important to enhance GPS resilience, and to detect and rectify GPS interference as quickly as possible.
Establish Real-Time Detection Networks: Develop automated national and international systems to detect, localize, and respond to GPS/GNSS jamming and spoofing incidents promptly.
Implement Alternative Navigation Systems: An alternative Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) network, whether terrestrial or Low Earth Orbit, should be implemented to provide a backup option to GPS. The FCC currently has a Notice Of Inquiry (NOI) underway in this regard.
Strengthen Legal and Regulatory Frameworks: Enforce stricter laws against the manufacture, sale, and use of GPS jamming and spoofing devices, with coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local authorities to prosecute offenders.
Finally, when it is not possible to prevent an attack that impacts Public Safety, it is very critical to ensure precise and timely geo-targeting of Emergency Alerts.
Wireless providers are required to deliver Emergency Alerts with no more than a one-tenth of a mile overshoot of the targeted area for devices that support this capability, a substantial improvement from earlier county-wide alerts. In addition, it is important for authorities to issue Emergency Alerts in a timely manner when Emergency events happen.
Conclusion
In an era defined by complex global conflicts and technological vulnerabilities, Public Safety depends on proactive measures to counteract escalating cybersecurity attacks and GPS interference. Specifically it is critical to safeguard Public Safety infrastructure from these types of cyber attacks and to ensure accurate and trusted location for Emergency Services. When Public Safety is directly impacted, precise and timely geo-targeting of Emergency Alerts is critical.