GPS Disruptions: Efforts to Assess Risks to Critical Infrastructure and Coordinate Agency Actions Should Be Enhanced

Citation
Government Accountability Office, GPS Disruptions: Efforts to Assess Risks to Critical Infrastructure and Coordinate Agency Actions Should Be Enhanced (GAO-14-15) (Nov. 6, 2013) (full-text).

Overview
GPS provides positioning, navigation, and timing data to users worldwide and is used extensively in many of the nation's 16 critical infrastructure sectors, such as communications and transportation. GPS is also a key component in many of the modern conveniences that people rely on or interact with daily. However, sectors' increasing dependency on GPS leaves them potentially vulnerable to disruptions. The GAO was asked to review the effects of GPS disruptions on the nation's critical infrastructure.

The GAO examined (1) the extent to which DHS has assessed the risks and potential effects of GPS disruptions on critical infrastructure, (2) the extent to which DOT and DHS have developed backup strategies to mitigate GPS disruption]s, and (3) what strategies, if any, selected [[critical infrastructure sectors employ to mitigate GPS disruptions and any remaining challenges.