[IP] STUPID US Defines Plans to Shut Down GPS in C rises
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Subject: Re: [IP] STUPID US Defines Plans to Shut Down GPS in C rises
Author: Kurt Albershardt <kurt@xxxxxx>
Date: 16th December 2004 9:41:11 am
> (12-15) 15:59 PST WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush has ordered plans for
> temporarily disabling the U.S. network of global positioning satellites
> during a national crisis to prevent terrorists from using the navigational
> technology, the White House said Wednesday.
> Any shutdown of the network inside the United States would come under only
> the most remarkable circumstances, said a Bush administration official who
..who obviously has very little understanding of the widespread implications
this would create. Besides the obvious disruption of tracking systems for
trucks & railways (including hazmat and specifically nuclear waste), it would
wreak havoc with the telecommunications network. The overwhelming majority of
telecom BITS timing is currently derived from GPS-based Primary Reference
Sources. These inexpensive stratum one clocks are in virtually every telecom
site in the world and will fall back to
less stringent timing after different periods depending on what sort of backup
clock is present. The larger sites typically have Rubidium backup (which will
typically maintain stratum one for 21-30 days) but many smaller sites (like
cell sites) have only quartz backup, typically good for 24 hours. The default
behavior of most PRS clocks is to stop outputting clock when they can no longer
put out stratum one quality. This will bring a typical central office switch
to a screeching halt, and
will also immediately disable most SS7 network equipment. Taking down the SS7
network will disrupt PSTN and wireless phone calls and will also will halt
credit card transactions, the use of phone cards, wireless roaming, and other
applications. The SS7 network is an ideal terrorist target, and disrupting its
timing source is practically the only way to do that (short of a widespread
coordinated attack on literally dozens of hardened buildings.)
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