System and method for determining falsified satellite measurements

• US 7,940,213 B2
• Filed: 11/24/2008
• Issued: 05/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Andrew LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Thomson, Martin, Harper, Neil
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Liu, Harry
• Application Number:
  US12/276,804
• Publication Number:
  US 20100127923A1
• Time in Patent Office: 897 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357.42, 342/357.45, 342/357.59, 455/456.5
• US Class Current: 342/357.59
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/215 issues related to spoofing

Abstract

A system and method for determining whether a wireless device has transmitted one or more forged satellite measurements. An estimated location of a wireless device may be determined as a function of signals from a cellular network. For each one of a first set of satellites from which the wireless device receives a signal, expected frequency information may be determined as a function of the estimated location, actual frequency information may be measured, and the expected frequency information compared with the measured frequency information. One or more satellite measurements received from the wireless device may then be identified as forged if a difference between the expected and measured frequency information is greater than a predetermined threshold.

Claims

1. A method for determining whether a wireless device has transmitted one or more forged satellite measurements, comprising the steps of:

(a) determining an estimated location of a wireless device;

(b) for each one of a first set of satellites from which the wireless device receives a signal;

(i) determining expected frequency information as a function of the estimated location,

(ii) measuring actual frequency information, and

(iii) comparing the expected frequency information with the measured frequency information; and

(c) identifying one or more satellite measurements received from the wireless device as forged if a difference between the expected and measured frequency information is greater than a predetermined threshold.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of identifying further comprises identifying all forged satellite measurements received from the wireless device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said frequency information includes Doppler shift information.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the estimated location is determined as a function of signals provided by a cellular network.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of determining another estimated location of the wireless device from signals received from a second set of satellites, the second set excluding the satellite having the forged measurement.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

(d) repeating steps (a) through (c) using signals received from a second set of satellites.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the second set of satellites is a subset of the first set of satellites.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the second set of satellites is mutually exclusive of the first set of satellites.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the wireless device is selected from the group consisting of:

cellular device, text messaging device, computer, portable computer, vehicle locating device, vehicle security device, communication device, and wireless transceiver.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the satellites are a part of a Global Navigation Satellite System (“

GNSS”

).

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the GNSS is selected from the group consisting of:

a Global Positioning System (“

GPS”

), Galileo system, GLONASS system, Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (“

QZSS”

), Beidou satellite system, Compass satellite system, and combinations thereof.

12. In a method for determining whether a wireless device has transmitted a forged satellite measurement, the method comprising receiving at the wireless device signals from a plurality of satellites and determining an estimated location of the wireless device as a function of signals received from a cellular network, the improvement comprising comparing expected Doppler shift determined as a function of the estimated location with the measured Doppler shift of ones of the signals received at the wireless device, and identifying the wireless device as having transmitted a forged measurement if the expected and measured Doppler shifts do not substantially correspond within a predetermined threshold.

13. A method for determining whether an estimated location of a wireless device includes one or more forged satellite measurements, comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving at the wireless device signals from a first set of satellites for a region in which the wireless device is located;

(b) determining an estimated location of the wireless device from the signals received from the first set of satellites; and

(c) identifying the estimated location as having one or more forged satellite measurements if the estimated location is not within the region.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of determining another estimated location of the mobile device from signals received from a second set of satellites.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the region is selected from the group consisting of:

a serving area of a base station serving the wireless device, an approximate area of a communications network, a city, a municipality, a county, a state, a country, a continent, and the Earth.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the wireless device is selected from the group consisting of:

cellular device, text messaging device, computer, portable computer, vehicle locating device, vehicle security device, communication device, and wireless transceiver.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein the satellites are a part of a Global Navigation Satellite System (“

GNSS”

).

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the GNSS is selected from the group consisting of:

a Global Positioning System (“

GPS”

), Galileo system, GLONASS system, Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (“

QZSS”

), Beidou satellite system, Compass satellite system, and combinations thereof.

19. A system for determining whether a wireless device has transmitted one or more forged satellite measurements, comprising:

(a) circuitry for determining an estimated location of the wireless device;

(b) circuitry for determining expected frequency information as a function of the estimated location;

(c) circuitry for measuring actual frequency information;

(d) circuitry for comparing the expected frequency information with the measured frequency information; and

(e) circuitry for identifying one or more satellite measurements as forged if the difference between the expected and measured frequency information is greater than a predetermined threshold.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein said frequency information includes Doppler shift information.

21. The system of claim 19 wherein the estimated location is determined as a function of signals provided by a cellular network.

22. The system of claim 19 wherein the wireless device is selected from the group consisting of:

cellular device, text messaging device, computer, portable computer, vehicle locating device, vehicle security device, communication device, and wireless transceiver.

23. The system of claim 19 wherein the satellites are a part of a Global Navigation Satellite System (“

GNSS”

).

24. The system of claim 23 wherein the GNSS is selected from the group consisting of:

a Global Positioning System (“

GPS”

), Galileo system, GLONASS system, Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (“

QZSS”

), Beidou satellite system, Compass satellite system, and combinations thereof.