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GPS & PNT – A Single Point of Failure for CI?

Explore how widespread dependence on GPS for positioning, navigation, and timing creates vulnerabilities for critical infrastructure. This course examines GPS jamming and spoofing, their potential consequences for utilities and other critical systems, and strategies for building more resilient PNT capabilities.
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  • Instructor
    Dana Goward
  • Level
    Beginner
  • Study time
    ~ 60 min
  • Video time
    52 min
  • Lessons
    6

Certification included

Earn a certificate upon successful course completion to showcase your skills.

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About This Course

Target Audience

Prerequisites

Related Courses

About This Course
GPS has become an essential source of positioning, navigation, and precise timing across critical infrastructure, supporting power grids, telecommunications, financial systems, transportation, IT networks, and many other applications. However, this widespread reliance also creates significant vulnerabilities because GPS and other Global Navigation Satellite Systems use weak signals that can be disrupted or deliberately manipulated.

In this course, you'll explore the fundamentals of GPS and PNT and examine the two major forms of GNSS interference: jamming and spoofing. Through real-world examples, you'll see how these capabilities have evolved, become increasingly accessible, and affected navigation, telecommunications, transportation, and critical infrastructure around the world.

The course then focuses on the importance of GPS-derived timing for utilities and introduces a framework for assessing the risk of GPS disruption based on threat, vulnerability, and consequence. You'll also examine the growing role of PNT in geopolitical competition and explore approaches to improving resilience, including interference detection, more robust equipment, alternative PNT sources, terrestrial systems, and timing over fiber.
Target Audience
  • Utility and critical infrastructure professionals
  • Technology, engineering, and telecommunications professionals
  • Professionals involved in infrastructure security, reliability, or resilience
  • Anyone interested in GPS, PNT, and their role in critical infrastructure
Prerequisites
There are no formal prerequisites for this course. A basic understanding of utility communications, critical infrastructure, or GPS technology may be helpful but is not required.
We're continuously expanding the UTC Academy with new courses and industry expertise. Check back soon to discover more related learning opportunities.

What you´ll learn

  • Explain the positioning, navigation, and timing services provided by GPS and other GNSS.

  • Identify the primary vulnerabilities of GPS signals and distinguish between jamming and spoofing.

  • Describe how GPS-derived timing supports power grids, telecommunications, and other critical infrastructure.
  • Assess GPS disruption risk using the concepts of threat, vulnerability, and consequence.

  • Recognize how GPS and PNT disruption can be used in conflict and great-power competition.

  • Identify strategies for improving PNT resilience through signal protection, robust equipment, and alternative sources.

   Self-pace-learning

    Resume anytime

  Access on mobile

  Closed captions

Course Content

Your Instructor

Dana Goward

President of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation

About the instructor

Mr. Dana A. Goward is founder and President of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation, a public benefit charity advocating for policies and systems to protect GPS satellites, signals, and users.

A life-long navigator, he learned orienteering as a scout, celestial navigation on a tall ship crossing the Atlantic, was navigator for an offshore patrol ship, and piloted Coast Guard helicopters for decades. He served as commanding officer of Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans, and as Chief, Office of Boat Forces before retiring from uniformed service as a Captain.

As a member of the federal Senior Executive Service he served as the maritime navigation authority for the United States with 12 different business lines budgeted at over $1.3B/yr, and represented the United States at the International Maritime Organization, International Assn. of Lighthouse Authorities, U.N. anti-piracy working group, and other international forums.

He is the recipient of Helicopter Association International’s Igor Sikorsky Humanitarian Service Award for his rescue of two fisherman at the height of Hurricane Chantal, the Institute of Navigation’s Hays Award for inspirational leadership, the John Harrison Award from the International Association of Institutes of Navigation for outstanding contributions to navigation, and is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation.
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Earn a career certificate and PDH hours

  • How does it work?

    UTC provides Certificates of Completion for Professional Development Hours (PDHs) for all education we provide. You must check the regulations in your state’s licensing agency to ensure you meet the requirements.

  • PDHs & Certificate - Just a Click Away

    After completing the course - and passing a short quiz, if required - participants will earn Professional Development Hours (PDHs) and receive a certificate of completion or a career certificate, which can be downloaded directly from the course player or shared on platforms like LinkedIn.

What Our Learners Say

Simple to understand!

This is for me a very valuable experience and I would recommend this training to other organizations.

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