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What is GPS' 19 year rollover and does it present a cybersecurity issue?


How far up have satellites used a GNSS for positioning, and how does the precision degrade with altitude?Does GPS work at ISS?How does GPS receiver synchronize time with GPS satellites?How does GPS work exactly?Why are the GPS constellation satellites in such a high orbit?How does GPS module gets time even before a fix?What is the magnetic equatorial anomaly and how is GAGAN unique in its ability to compensate?TLE and RINEX gps differencesWhat are RAIM Service Outage, RNP and EnRoute on GPS DOP maps? What does the red line mean?Does GPS spoofing ever come from space? How are spoofings usually detected?













2












$begingroup$


The NPR new item and audio podcast The Global Positioning System Resets talks about a 19 year cycling of something in the GPS system, but it's not clear what it is.




Every 19 years, the Global Positioning System resets a measure of time built into its program. The latest rollover is Saturday and NPR's Scott Simon asks cybersecurity expert Frank Cilluffo about it.



It's Y2K for GPS. The Global Positioning System was designed with a limit for the number of weeks it could count. Every 19 years, the program reaches that limit and the count resets. That happens tonight. What might happen tonight? Frank Cilluffo is director of the McCrary Institute for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Cyber Systems. He joins us now from the campus of Auburn University. Thanks so much for being with us.




  1. What is it exactly that cycles or "rolls over" every 19 years?

  2. Is it in any way analogous to y2k?

  3. Is there any cybersecurity issue associated with the rollover more subtle than GPS simply not working for some users? For example, is there some hacking potential associated with this moment?









share|improve this question











$endgroup$
















    2












    $begingroup$


    The NPR new item and audio podcast The Global Positioning System Resets talks about a 19 year cycling of something in the GPS system, but it's not clear what it is.




    Every 19 years, the Global Positioning System resets a measure of time built into its program. The latest rollover is Saturday and NPR's Scott Simon asks cybersecurity expert Frank Cilluffo about it.



    It's Y2K for GPS. The Global Positioning System was designed with a limit for the number of weeks it could count. Every 19 years, the program reaches that limit and the count resets. That happens tonight. What might happen tonight? Frank Cilluffo is director of the McCrary Institute for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Cyber Systems. He joins us now from the campus of Auburn University. Thanks so much for being with us.




    1. What is it exactly that cycles or "rolls over" every 19 years?

    2. Is it in any way analogous to y2k?

    3. Is there any cybersecurity issue associated with the rollover more subtle than GPS simply not working for some users? For example, is there some hacking potential associated with this moment?









    share|improve this question











    $endgroup$














      2












      2








      2


      1



      $begingroup$


      The NPR new item and audio podcast The Global Positioning System Resets talks about a 19 year cycling of something in the GPS system, but it's not clear what it is.




      Every 19 years, the Global Positioning System resets a measure of time built into its program. The latest rollover is Saturday and NPR's Scott Simon asks cybersecurity expert Frank Cilluffo about it.



      It's Y2K for GPS. The Global Positioning System was designed with a limit for the number of weeks it could count. Every 19 years, the program reaches that limit and the count resets. That happens tonight. What might happen tonight? Frank Cilluffo is director of the McCrary Institute for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Cyber Systems. He joins us now from the campus of Auburn University. Thanks so much for being with us.




      1. What is it exactly that cycles or "rolls over" every 19 years?

      2. Is it in any way analogous to y2k?

      3. Is there any cybersecurity issue associated with the rollover more subtle than GPS simply not working for some users? For example, is there some hacking potential associated with this moment?









      share|improve this question











      $endgroup$




      The NPR new item and audio podcast The Global Positioning System Resets talks about a 19 year cycling of something in the GPS system, but it's not clear what it is.




      Every 19 years, the Global Positioning System resets a measure of time built into its program. The latest rollover is Saturday and NPR's Scott Simon asks cybersecurity expert Frank Cilluffo about it.



      It's Y2K for GPS. The Global Positioning System was designed with a limit for the number of weeks it could count. Every 19 years, the program reaches that limit and the count resets. That happens tonight. What might happen tonight? Frank Cilluffo is director of the McCrary Institute for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Cyber Systems. He joins us now from the campus of Auburn University. Thanks so much for being with us.




      1. What is it exactly that cycles or "rolls over" every 19 years?

      2. Is it in any way analogous to y2k?

      3. Is there any cybersecurity issue associated with the rollover more subtle than GPS simply not working for some users? For example, is there some hacking potential associated with this moment?






      gps gnss






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited 1 hour ago







      uhoh

















      asked 2 hours ago









      uhohuhoh

      40.5k18149511




      40.5k18149511




















          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          2












          $begingroup$

          The field in the protocol that specifies the week number is a 10-bit value. In most computers, when an (unsigned) integer exceeds its maximum value, it wraps around to zero. This is roughly similar to Y2K, though is more like the upcoming year 2038 problem (but with weeks instead of seconds). This 10-bit value will wrap around, and the GPS system will hold the same time value as it held back in 1999.



          Yes, this can cause some security issues. Many people use GPS signals as a way to tell time instead of its traditional use with geolocation. Accurate time is extremely important for security, such as for verifying that a certificate is valid and has not expired. If an operating system exclusively uses GPS to calibrate its internal clock, this rollover could, if handled improperly in firmware, result in certificate validation errors or even the failure to check for security updates. See also How important is local time for security?.






          share|improve this answer










          New contributor




          forest is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.






          $endgroup$












          • $begingroup$
            To double check, a GPS receiver unit without properly updated software (or firmware) could return a properly formatted yet incorrect value for GPS time, and this problem is independent of the quality of the geolocation data?
            $endgroup$
            – uhoh
            8 mins ago






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            @uhoh Correct. If that invalid time is used for purposes that require accurate time for security, this could result in a security issue.
            $endgroup$
            – forest
            6 mins ago











          Your Answer





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          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes









          active

          oldest

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          active

          oldest

          votes









          2












          $begingroup$

          The field in the protocol that specifies the week number is a 10-bit value. In most computers, when an (unsigned) integer exceeds its maximum value, it wraps around to zero. This is roughly similar to Y2K, though is more like the upcoming year 2038 problem (but with weeks instead of seconds). This 10-bit value will wrap around, and the GPS system will hold the same time value as it held back in 1999.



          Yes, this can cause some security issues. Many people use GPS signals as a way to tell time instead of its traditional use with geolocation. Accurate time is extremely important for security, such as for verifying that a certificate is valid and has not expired. If an operating system exclusively uses GPS to calibrate its internal clock, this rollover could, if handled improperly in firmware, result in certificate validation errors or even the failure to check for security updates. See also How important is local time for security?.






          share|improve this answer










          New contributor




          forest is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.






          $endgroup$












          • $begingroup$
            To double check, a GPS receiver unit without properly updated software (or firmware) could return a properly formatted yet incorrect value for GPS time, and this problem is independent of the quality of the geolocation data?
            $endgroup$
            – uhoh
            8 mins ago






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            @uhoh Correct. If that invalid time is used for purposes that require accurate time for security, this could result in a security issue.
            $endgroup$
            – forest
            6 mins ago















          2












          $begingroup$

          The field in the protocol that specifies the week number is a 10-bit value. In most computers, when an (unsigned) integer exceeds its maximum value, it wraps around to zero. This is roughly similar to Y2K, though is more like the upcoming year 2038 problem (but with weeks instead of seconds). This 10-bit value will wrap around, and the GPS system will hold the same time value as it held back in 1999.



          Yes, this can cause some security issues. Many people use GPS signals as a way to tell time instead of its traditional use with geolocation. Accurate time is extremely important for security, such as for verifying that a certificate is valid and has not expired. If an operating system exclusively uses GPS to calibrate its internal clock, this rollover could, if handled improperly in firmware, result in certificate validation errors or even the failure to check for security updates. See also How important is local time for security?.






          share|improve this answer










          New contributor




          forest is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.






          $endgroup$












          • $begingroup$
            To double check, a GPS receiver unit without properly updated software (or firmware) could return a properly formatted yet incorrect value for GPS time, and this problem is independent of the quality of the geolocation data?
            $endgroup$
            – uhoh
            8 mins ago






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            @uhoh Correct. If that invalid time is used for purposes that require accurate time for security, this could result in a security issue.
            $endgroup$
            – forest
            6 mins ago













          2












          2








          2





          $begingroup$

          The field in the protocol that specifies the week number is a 10-bit value. In most computers, when an (unsigned) integer exceeds its maximum value, it wraps around to zero. This is roughly similar to Y2K, though is more like the upcoming year 2038 problem (but with weeks instead of seconds). This 10-bit value will wrap around, and the GPS system will hold the same time value as it held back in 1999.



          Yes, this can cause some security issues. Many people use GPS signals as a way to tell time instead of its traditional use with geolocation. Accurate time is extremely important for security, such as for verifying that a certificate is valid and has not expired. If an operating system exclusively uses GPS to calibrate its internal clock, this rollover could, if handled improperly in firmware, result in certificate validation errors or even the failure to check for security updates. See also How important is local time for security?.






          share|improve this answer










          New contributor




          forest is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.






          $endgroup$



          The field in the protocol that specifies the week number is a 10-bit value. In most computers, when an (unsigned) integer exceeds its maximum value, it wraps around to zero. This is roughly similar to Y2K, though is more like the upcoming year 2038 problem (but with weeks instead of seconds). This 10-bit value will wrap around, and the GPS system will hold the same time value as it held back in 1999.



          Yes, this can cause some security issues. Many people use GPS signals as a way to tell time instead of its traditional use with geolocation. Accurate time is extremely important for security, such as for verifying that a certificate is valid and has not expired. If an operating system exclusively uses GPS to calibrate its internal clock, this rollover could, if handled improperly in firmware, result in certificate validation errors or even the failure to check for security updates. See also How important is local time for security?.







          share|improve this answer










          New contributor




          forest is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.









          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited 44 mins ago





















          New contributor




          forest is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.









          answered 1 hour ago









          forestforest

          1214




          1214




          New contributor




          forest is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.





          New contributor





          forest is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.






          forest is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.











          • $begingroup$
            To double check, a GPS receiver unit without properly updated software (or firmware) could return a properly formatted yet incorrect value for GPS time, and this problem is independent of the quality of the geolocation data?
            $endgroup$
            – uhoh
            8 mins ago






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            @uhoh Correct. If that invalid time is used for purposes that require accurate time for security, this could result in a security issue.
            $endgroup$
            – forest
            6 mins ago
















          • $begingroup$
            To double check, a GPS receiver unit without properly updated software (or firmware) could return a properly formatted yet incorrect value for GPS time, and this problem is independent of the quality of the geolocation data?
            $endgroup$
            – uhoh
            8 mins ago






          • 1




            $begingroup$
            @uhoh Correct. If that invalid time is used for purposes that require accurate time for security, this could result in a security issue.
            $endgroup$
            – forest
            6 mins ago















          $begingroup$
          To double check, a GPS receiver unit without properly updated software (or firmware) could return a properly formatted yet incorrect value for GPS time, and this problem is independent of the quality of the geolocation data?
          $endgroup$
          – uhoh
          8 mins ago




          $begingroup$
          To double check, a GPS receiver unit without properly updated software (or firmware) could return a properly formatted yet incorrect value for GPS time, and this problem is independent of the quality of the geolocation data?
          $endgroup$
          – uhoh
          8 mins ago




          1




          1




          $begingroup$
          @uhoh Correct. If that invalid time is used for purposes that require accurate time for security, this could result in a security issue.
          $endgroup$
          – forest
          6 mins ago




          $begingroup$
          @uhoh Correct. If that invalid time is used for purposes that require accurate time for security, this could result in a security issue.
          $endgroup$
          – forest
          6 mins ago

















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