The government has officially acknowledged a significant cyber attack at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, confirming that the Global Positioning System (GPS) signals of aircraft were tampered with. This revelation was made by Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu in the Rajya Sabha, highlighting growing concerns about cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the nation's aviation infrastructure.
Cyber Attack Confirmed
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu informed the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's Parliament, that a cyber attack indeed occurred at Delhi Airport. He clarified that the attack manifested as tampering with GPS signals, a sophisticated technique known as GPS spoofing. The Minister stated that this incident took place on November 10, 2025, at IGI Airport, where complaints of spoofing were received for some flights, while he added that no aircraft was directly impacted in this specific instance, yet it represented a serious breach of security protocols.
Widespread Impact and Investigation
The attempted cyber attack wasn't confined solely to IGI Airport. Minister Naidu revealed that similar cyber attack attempts were made at a total of seven airports across the country, including Delhi and Kolkata. Prior to this admission, a high-level investigation had been initiated following an abrupt malfunction in Delhi Airport's air traffic system, while this malfunction led to severe disruptions in flight operations for over 12 hours. More than 700 domestic and international flights experienced significant delays, and some flights were even cancelled. Normal airport operations were only restored after approximately 48 hours. A crucial meeting was convened to address the situation, involving the Airport Authority, security agencies, and all other relevant stakeholders to prevent such incidents in the future and bolster the resilience of the aviation system.
Understanding GPS Spoofing and its Dangers
GPS spoofing is a sophisticated form of cyber attack where an attacker transmits fake satellite signals, while these counterfeit signals deceive a device, such as an aircraft's navigation system, causing it to display an incorrect location or erroneous data. This can severely impact aircraft navigation, potentially leading to a deviation from its actual course or guiding it to a location that doesn't physically exist. Such tampering poses a grave threat to aviation safety, Notably increasing the risk of accidents. It grants the attacker the ability to alter an aircraft's trajectory or feed it false information, presenting a major risk to both national security and passenger safety.
Government and DGCA's Responsive Measures
In light of the gravity of this incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has taken immediate steps. The DGCA issued an advisory on GNSS Interference on November 24, 2023, mandating the reporting of GPS jamming/spoofing incidents. Also, a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for real-time reporting was also issued, effective from November 10, 2025. Minister Naidu emphasized that the DGCA and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) are continuously monitoring such activities to ensure the security of the airspace and to thwart any future cyber attacks, while these measures are aimed at strengthening the robustness and security of air traffic control systems and protecting critical aviation infrastructure from malicious cyber threats.
