GPS spoofing isn’t just a tech glitch, it’s a wake-up call for India’s safety and mobility

By Atul Luthra, Co-Founder & Principal Consultant at 5Tattva and CEO, Zeroday Ops

When reports surfaced of suspected GPS spoofing disrupting flight operations at Delhi’s IGI Airport, it signalled something far bigger than an isolated aviation anomaly. It exposed a growing reality we’ve long anticipated in the cybersecurity community—digital manipulation techniques have evolved enough to interfere with physical systems that millions depend on every day. The ability to mislead navigation signals at scale shows how attackers are no longer confined to the boundaries of traditional IT networks; they now have the tools and intent to compromise national infrastructure.

The problem: Fragile signals in a connected world

GPS spoofing occurs when an attacker transmits fake satellite signals to mislead GPS receivers about their real position or time. In a controlled lab experiment, even limited-power equipment successfully injected counterfeit signals, making devices detect more satellites than ...