Multi-GNSS receiver embedded security thwarts spoofers

18th February 2016

Alpha Micro

Mick Elliott

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The u-blox M8 featuring new 3.01 firmware, a multi-GNSS receiver platform with a -167dBm sensitivity (dynamic 5m/sec), providing a 2m position accuracy is available at Alpha Micro. It has been designed to let OEMs create advanced automotive navigation, drive recorder, emergency call systems, drone positioning, and other such systems that demand exceptional accuracy and reliability.

The upgraded u-blox platform reduces power consumption by 10% over previous firmware versions and supports six global and regional variants of GNSS: GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, QZSS, SBAS and Galileo.

It is also able to track up to three constellations concurrently and makes full use of SBAS and QZSS augmentation systems.

Additionally, the M8 supports the Russian and European emergency call systems ERA-GLONASS and eCall, which will be required in all new vehicles from 2018.

The growing number of wireless systems that use GNSS positioning has led to an increased threat of attack - with vehicles’ (and even wearables’) GPS systems being spoofed.

To counter this, the M8 FW 3.01 contains u-blox’s proprietary anti-spoofing system, which detects fake GNSS signals; uses a message integrity protection system to prevent "man-in-the-middle" attacks; and suppresses any detected jamming attempt.

Being fully integrated into the platform, the M8 FW 3.01’s security mechanisms are significantly more effective than an external system implementation.

Modules with the FW 3.01 in ROM will become available in the second quarter of 2016, whilst existing flash-ROM based M8 products can be updated by downloading the firmware from the u-blox website.