AI-powered threats are shrinking the time security teams have to detect and respond. See how organizations are evolving security operations with automation, AI, and managed expertise to reduce noise and accelerate outcomes.
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Host Maria Varmazis and producer Ethan Cook discuss GPS and how this service functions as a backbone for modern society. They look at how this technology functions and how it has entrenched itself as a fundamental part of critical infrastructure, including financial services, communications, and energy grids.
AI Security Brief from TrendAI explores how AI is reshaping cybersecurity, from emerging attack techniques to zero-day research and real-world adversary activity. Join hosts Johnny Hand and Dustin Childs as they sit down with security leaders, practitioners, researchers, and policy experts to discuss the AI trends, risks, and decisions organizations cannot afford to ignore. Listen AI Security Brief to get ahead of the threats and governance challenges shaping the future of security.
This week on T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing: we look at GPS and how this technology has become instrumental to modern society. As governments have expanded the public’s use of this technology it has evolved from a fringe service to one that supports many of the modern day services we have come to rely on today.
Does this newsletter spark questions for you? Write to us at space@n2k.com to guide how we’ll continue to explore GPS in future podcast episodes and newsletter issues.
As with many technological advancements, GPS began as a military project during the 1970s. The intent was to create a technology that would aid in navigation, asset tracking and operational coordination for forces around the world.
At its core, GPS functions through a process called Trilateration. A constellation of satellites continuously broadcast signals containing precise timing and location information. GPS receivers collect these signals and calculate how long each signal takes to arrive. By comparing signals from multiple satellites, a receiver can determine its exact position.
After its initial deployment, the US government began expanding civilian access to GPS following the Soviet Union’s downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, which had accidentally entered Soviet airspace. By allowing select industries such as aviation to have access to these technologies, the US government aimed to avoid future preventable disasters.
The initial rollout was limited. The federal government intentionally degraded civilian GPS accuracy through selective availability. Under this system, random errors were intentionally introduced into civilian GPS signals, limiting civilian positioning accuracy to roughly 100 meters and preserving precise capabilities for military uses.
This policy changed in 2000, when former President Bill Clinton ordered the discontinuation of selective availability. The order dramatically improved civilian GPS accuracy and opened the door to widespread commercial adoption. Following this decision, GPS has rapidly transformed from a specialized navigation system into a core utility that supports much of society’s digital infrastructure.
Currently, GPS supports far more than navigation. The technology has become deeply integrated into numerous critical infrastructure sectors, including telecommunications, transportation, energy, agriculture, emergency services, and financial services. While many only recognize GPS as a navigation tool, the technology plays a critical role in synchronizing digital systems that modern economies rely on.
Due to its embedded nature, GPS has evolved into an invisible but essential utility, much like internet connectivity. And like many critical infrastructure technologies, this system also represents a major cybersecurity and national security challenge.
By the time GPS constellation signals reach the ground from geostationary orbit, they are relatively weak. Malicious actors are able to overpower or jam weak signals with relatively inexpensive equipment, disrupting positioning accuracy and timing information.
Some examples of these attacks could include:
As geopolitical tensions and cyber threats continue to grow, governments and organizations are becoming increasingly aware that while many do not see GPS actively in their day-to-day efforts, they rely on it for many of their core operations.
We dive deeper into GPS signal attacks in next week’s T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing and Signals and Space newsletter.
In modern hybrid networks, our identities are foundational. Dave Bittner sat down with Justin Kohler, CPO at SpecterOps, to discuss how threat actors are pivoting their attack patterns to exploit the foundations of today’s environments. By targeting and exploiting identity pathways, attackers can swiftly move around a network to reach their true target. Listen to the conversation to learn how attackers are exploiting the foundations of modern network design.
The news stories we’re reading and thinking about this week.
May 26, 2026 | Source: Firefly Space
Exclusive: Starlink and Amazon may be able to buy into EU mobile satellite spectrum plan.
May 26, 2026 | Source: Reuters
In the weekly Signals and Space newsletter, T-Minus host Maria Varmazis and producer Ethan Cook connect the dots between terrestrial infrastructure and the ever-expanding attack surface in space.
Each week, security professionals better understand how to defend tech’s newest battleground with:
