The Glonass system, the Russian equivalent of the American GPS, was "off-site" for hours last week, affecting many navigation devices, including the iPhone 5. Due to incorrect commands sent by the Russians to the Glonass satellites, the system was giving a position with huge deviations for about half a day.
As shown by a map published by the British General Lighthouse Authority, responsible for navigational aids, a Glonass receiver located in Harwich on the east coast of Britain showed at that time that it was in the waters of the North Sea, 50 kilometers away.
"The reality is that Glonass is used by a lot of people - the iPhone 5 picks up its signals," Engineering Professor David Last, former president of the UK's Royal Institute of Navigation, told the BBC.
"What we saw happening last week was that a lot of people were affected by the Glonass malfunction, even when the receivers were also picking up GPS," he pointed out.
"The lesson is not only that satellite navigation systems are vulnerable, but also that one cannot protect oneself simply by connecting a second navigation system.".
