Electronic warfare around the Iran conflict is causing cascading disruptions to civilian navigation and delivery apps across the Gulf region, with residents reporting drivers appearing to be in the middle of the sea and routine trips suddenly showing wildly inflated travel times, according to a report in Wired.
The disruptions stem from two distinct techniques. GPS jamming floods the weak satellite signal with stronger noise, effectively blinding receivers. GPS spoofing is more insidious: Fake satellite signals are broadcast that appear legitimate, causing navigation systems to show a plausible but incorrect location, meaning a drone or missile can be quietly steered off course while its operators see nothing unusual.