GPS jammers are being used to hijack trucks and down drones: How to stop them

By PopTika -- Shutterstock

Satellite navigation and tracking via GPS has become a critical link in the world's rapidly growing logistics and freight carrying ecosystem. Companies use GPS to track trucks and keep them on time and their cargo secure. 

Little wonder, then, that criminals are turning to cheap GPS jamming devices to ransack the cargo on roads and at sea, a problem that's getting worse but may be ameliorated with a new generation of safety technology designed to overcome threats from jamming.

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In case you aren't a master criminal or a secret agent, here's some background. The core problem for any system using GPS is that the signals are extremely weak, an inevitable byproduct of the vast distances those signals need to travel. Jammers work by overpowering GPS signals by emitting a signal at the same frequency, just a bit more powerful than the original. The typical jammers used for cargo hijackings are able to jam frequencies from up to 5 miles away rendering GPS tracking and security apparatuses, such as those used by trucking syndicates, totally useless. 

In Mexico, jammers are used in some 85% of cargo truck thefts. Statistics are harder to come by in the United States, but there can be little doubt the devices are prevalent and widely used. Russia is currently availing itself of the technology to jam commercial planes in Ukraine.

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