U.S. Military Turned GPS into a Global "Numbers Station"
Security researcher Steven Murdoch has identified that the U.S. military has likely been using public GPS signals to broadcast encrypted data for nearly 20 years. The data, hidden in a specific subframe of the GPS signal, is believed to be part of a global network for distributing cryptographic keys.
Why it matters
This reveals a long-standing, previously unknown use of public infrastructure for covert military communications, raising questions about the security and transparency of global navigation systems.
The U.S. military has likely been quietly broadcasting codes for its global encryption network using public GPS for nearly 20 years, turning each satellite into a hidden “numbers station,” according to Steven Murdoch, an information security expert, who detailed his findings in a new article in Inside GNSS .
The report relies on the findings of a security expert and presents the information as a discovery of technical facts rather than a political critique.
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