GNSS, jamming and spoofing: a clearly documented risk

The chapter on maritime cybersecurity provides a detailed description of the threats affecting GNSS systems. It recalls that associated attacks (spoofing, jamming) can lead to a loss of reliable positioning and to navigation errors, directly impacting maritime safety. It also emphasizes that users must “plan” (or at least anticipate!) “potential GPS disruptions, authenticate the reliability of received data and consider alternative positioning sources” (cyber chapter, pp. 278–280).

This document marks an important evolution for this island state, which we particularly appreciate, highly dependent on its maritime infrastructure, but historically limited in terms of surveillance and protection capabilities over its maritime domain.

The strategy explicitly identifies the protection of critical infrastructure as a central issue, in particular subsea telecommunications cables and energy interconnectors (such as the Celtic Interconnector). These infrastructures are presented as essential to the country’s economic and digital functioning, in a context where a significant share of transatlantic data flows passes close to Irish waters.