WASHINGTON — The GPS system’s vulnerability to jamming, spoofing and system problems poses a huge threat to the timing systems that are a critical part of our communications networks. The Workshop on Synchronization and Timing Systems (WSTS) provides expert insight on how to address this problem. “Security Resilience and Sync” is a major focus at WSTS. The event features the field’s top experts on timing and sync topics and takes place June 18-21 in San Jose, CA.
“GPS is extremely reliable and accurate, and that’s why our timing systems depend on it.” says Marc Weiss, Founder and Chair of WSTS, “However, extreme reliability is not one hundred percent reliability. That’s why GPS’ effectiveness is also a problem and has led to blind trust. Most companies do not have back-ups for when the system goes down. Any form of failure can be catastrophic.”
On January 26, 2016, alarms started to occur on GPS timing receivers around the globe. The UTC signal on about half the satellites was off by 13 microseconds. Vendors that support timing technology received calls from major telecom networks informing them of the issues they were having. The issue was resolved. However, users globally may have experienced GPS timing issues for several hours.[1]
What would your company do in such a situation? WSTS Session 5 covers: Time-Spoofing of GNSS Receivers – Lessons Learned and Mitigation; The Resilient GNSS Receiver Project; Timing Network Backup to GNSS; Resilient/Advanced Methods to Do Time-Sync Using 1588 by Interworking with Other Protocols; GNSS Multipath and Spoofing Rejection Using Array Antenna; and Ensuring Robust Precision Time with Hardened GNSS, Atomic Clocks, and Multiband.
Immediately preceding the session is a keynote address, Timing: A Need for Security and Resiliency, delivered by James Platt, Director of the Position, Navigation and Timing Office, Department of Homeland Security. Closing the session is the presentation, Understanding and Mitigating the Impact of Synchronization Disruptions, delivered by Kevin Coggins, Vice President for Positioning, Navigation and Timing, Booz Allen Hamilton. The session concludes with a Timing Security Panel Discussion. A Networking break is included to give participants the chance for informal, one-on-one discussion with peers and speakers.
Learn more about WSTS 2018. Register today!
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[1] Curry, Charles, BEng, CEng, FIET, FRIN, Chronos Technology Ltd. “The Impact of the GPS UTC Anomaly Event of 26 January 2016 on the Global Timing Community.” Accessed May 4, 2018. Curry is a member of the Workshop on Synchronization in the USA Telecommunications Systems (WSTS) Steering Group.
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About ATIS
As a leading technology and solutions development organization, the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) brings together the top global ICT companies to advance the industry’s business priorities. ATIS’ 150 member companies are currently working to address 5G, cyber security, robocall mitigation, IoT, artificial intelligence-enabled networks, the all-IP transition, network functions virtualization, smart cities, emergency services, network evolution, quality of service, billing support, operations, and much more. These priorities follow a fast-track development lifecycle – from design and innovation through standards, specifications, requirements, business use cases, software toolkits, open source solutions, and interoperability testing.
ATIS is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ATIS is the North American Organizational Partner for the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a founding Partner of the oneM2M global initiative, a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and a member of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL). For more information, visit www.atis.org.
[1] Curry, Charles, BEng, CEng, FIET, FRIN, Chronos Technology Ltd. “The Impact of the GPS UTC Anomaly Event of 26 January 2016 on the Global Timing Community.” Accessed May 4, 2018. Curry is a member of the Workshop on Synchronization in the USA Telecommunications Systems (WSTS) Steering Group.
