COMMENT
Written on the Ipswich to London train and dispatched from a coffee shop in London over a commercial wi-fi service
I have just been challenged about some of the statements in my 12 June 2007 blog about the possibility of jamming GPS signals to avoid any future road charging schemes. Could the system be jammed across large swathes of the country as I suggest? And could it be done at a really low price? Yes.
For commercially available devices, check out the NaviGadget, these GPS jammers, or trace this trail leading to the DIY solution.
Believe me, this isn't rocket science. It is easy for anyone with modest skills in electronics to get the components and build one with a minimal collection of tools and equipment. But the number of commercial products available is already truly amazing and most appear to be easy to purchase and even easier to reverse-engineer.
As a matter of interest, there is a similar crop of devices available for GPS and wi-fi. We should learn: absolutely nothing is safe, secure or 100 per cent robust. There is only mitigated risk. The dark side is always out there waiting to thwart our efforts.
Comments
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1. Ian Grey
I regularly point this out to Wi-Fi mongers who try to peddle the line that we don't need cables any more in our HQ
They assume I am a swivel-eyed loon, but sooner or later there will be drive-by jams on Corporates with the proverbial pringle tubes, an interesting new form of extortion perhaps?
Get well soon, by the way...
2. Jay Houston
One of the best electronic devices I ever purchased in HongKong was my multi-band radio jammer.
No more do I have to tolerate inconsiderate people who yell into their hand phones, the volume often loud enough to render the use of the cell phone pointless, as they tell their party they are passing some point in the train and what the weather is like.
Works well on drivers, too!
The GPS jammer is intended to thwart the drive, from the USA, to know everything about everyone where newer hand phones are equipped with GPS receivers whose data is transmitted back to the cell phone operator.
3. David Bowler
Presumably this applies also to tracking devices attached to vehicles?
4. Stuart Fawcett
Pirate Radio on any large scale was usually tracked and closed down as it interfered with licensed services. With bidding on spectrum allocation being so expensive you can bet that severe fines will be legislated for and imposed on those who vandalise the airwaves. I expect some short term techie rebellion, but only low level criminal use in the long term.