GNSS Firewall Software to Strengthen Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Protection

Critical infrastructure systems including power utilities, financial services, mobile networks and transportation rely on Global Positioning System (GPS)-delivered timing to ensure ongoing operations. Microchip Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MCHP) today announced the release of a major software update for its BlueSky™ GNSS Firewall product, providing a higher level of resiliency against GPS vulnerabilities for systems dependent on GPS signal reception.

Microchip's BlueSky GNSS Firewall Software Release 2.0 performs real-time analysis to detect jamming and spoofing for protecting reception of the GPS signal and hardening response and recovery to avoid signal disruption. BlueSky GNSS Firewall Software Release 2.0 includes charting and advanced threshold settings of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observables such as satellites-in-view, carrier-to-noise, position dispersion, phase time deviation and radio frequency (RF) power level to simplify system turn-up and deployment.

BlueSky GNSS Firewall Software Release 2.0 includes improvements developed by Microchip as a result of participation in an industry live-sky testing event hosted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate and open to all providers. Microchip's participation in the DHS-hosted GPS Testing for Critical Infrastructure (GET-CI) events, with scenarios including spoofed signals, has helped the company to identify new solutions to prevent signal disruptions. As a result of 2019 live-sky testing and other input, Microchip developed the Blue Sky GNSS Firewall Software Release 2.0 to address operators' evolving requirements.