In October 2018, multiple vessels near the Port of Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) experienced GPS signal jamming, rendering their navigation systems inoperable. The interference caused a complete loss of GPS signals, including no satellite availability, missing Course Over Ground (COG) and Speed Over Ground (SOG) data, and the inability to obtain latitude/longitude coordinates. This disruption affected bridge navigation and critical communication equipment, posing severe risks to maritime safety. The outage was confirmed by multiple vessels, both inbound and outbound, suggesting a deliberate cyber interference (jamming) rather than a technical failure. Such an attack could lead to collisions, grounding, or operational halts, directly threatening vessel safety, port operations, and regional maritime trade. Given the Port of Jeddah’s strategic role as a key Red Sea hub for global shipping and Saudi Arabia’s economy, the incident highlights vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure dependent on GPS for navigation, logistics, and security.
Source: https://www.gard.no/web/updates/content/30454065/gps-interference-and-jamming-on-the-increase
TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/redseagateway
"id": "red904110725",
"linkid": "redseagateway",
"type": "Cyber Attack",
"date": "10/2018",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "6",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the economy of geographical region"{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Transportation/Logistics',
'location': 'Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Red Sea)',
'name': 'Port of Jeddah',
'type': 'Maritime port'},
{'industry': 'Shipping/Maritime',
'location': 'Near Port of Jeddah, Red Sea',
'name': 'Unnamed vessels (multiple)',
'type': 'Commercial/merchant ships'}],
'attack_vector': ['Electronic warfare', 'GPS jamming'],
'date_detected': '2018-10-15T05:30:00Z',
'description': 'In October 2018, vessels experienced GPS interference near '
'the Port of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Before departure from the '
'port, both GPS systems were found out of order, with loss of '
'signal, missing Course Over Ground (COG) / Speed Over Ground '
'(SOG), and absence of GPS signals. This affected bridge '
'navigation and other communication equipment. The GPS screen '
'displayed no available satellites, and no latitude/longitude '
'could be obtained. Another vessel lost GPS signals on all '
'nodes while approaching Jeddah Port on 15/10/2018 at 0530z. '
'Outbound vessels also reported no GPS signals, suggesting '
'deliberate jamming.',
'impact': {'operational_impact': ['Loss of navigation capability',
'Disruption of vessel operations',
'Potential safety risks for maritime '
'traffic'],
'systems_affected': ['GPS navigation systems',
'Bridge communication equipment']},
'investigation_status': 'Unconfirmed (suspected GPS jamming)',
'post_incident_analysis': {'root_causes': ['Vulnerability of GPS signals to '
'jamming',
'Lack of redundant navigation '
'systems']},
'references': [{'source': 'Maritime incident report (anonymous)'}],
'response': {'communication_strategy': ['Coordination with outbound vessels '
'to confirm GPS outage',
'Internal reporting within affected '
'vessels'],
'recovery_measures': ['Manual navigation techniques (e.g., '
'celestial navigation, radar)',
'Communication with nearby vessels for '
'situational awareness']},
'title': 'GPS Interference Incident Near Port of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia '
'(October 2018)',
'type': ['GPS jamming', 'Signal interference', 'Navigation disruption'],
'vulnerability_exploited': 'Dependence on unencrypted GPS signals for '
'navigation and communication'}