Senators want DHS to detail efforts to mitigate GPS disruptions

A bipartisan pair of senators are pressing the Department of Homeland Security to release information on the efforts being taken to protect critical infrastructure from GPS disruptions or outages. 

In a Dec. 18 letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Sens. Maggie Hassan. D-N.H., and James Lankford, R-Okla., pointed to steps that global competitors — such as Russia and China — have taken to bolster their own navigation and positioning technologies outside of satellite-based systems, like GPS. 

Hassan currently chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight, while Lankford is the ranking member of the panel’s Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management.

“We are concerned that the United States is lagging in its efforts to prepare for a potential GPS outage when compared to the efforts of our adversaries,” the lawmakers wrote, pointing to reports that Russia and China have invested in land-based alternatives to GPS. 

The senators noted, in part, that both referenced countries “have retained and upgraded World War II era technology” known as Loran that uses long-range radio signals to transmit navigational information, but that the U.S. government “appears to have given up efforts to upgrade its own Loran systems.”

The letter also highlighted concerns about the significant impact that GPS outages could have on the U.S. economy, including a 2021 report commissioned by DHS that found that foreign actors could use a GPS jamming system to completely shut down activity at U.S. ports. 

“GPS disruptions could affect the delivery of critical community services provided by multiple government and commercial entities, and could lead to cascading detrimental economic, public safety and security effects,” the letter said.

Findings from the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Advisory Board have also underscored concerns about the lack of U.S. innovation when it comes to navigation and positioning technologies, with the senators writing that a July memo from the group concluded that “the current capability gap between GPS and other global competitors could seriously threaten U.S. standing as the default provider of Global Navigation Satellite Services.”

The lawmakers asked for DHS to respond to a series of questions about the steps being taken to mitigate GPS vulnerabilities, including how the department is assessing risks when it comes to potential disruptions and what plans or protocols it has developed to prepare for outages.

Hassan and Lankford asked that DHS officials brief their respective subcommittees about these issues within 45 days of the letter's receipt.