EU's Galileo Satellite Code Cracked
Members of Cornell's Global Positioning System (GPS) Laboratory have cracked the pseudo random number (PRN) codes used by Europe's prototype GPS satellite. The result may be free access for consumers using navigation devices tuned to the EU's GPS system and less chance for the EU to recoup the $4 billion it has allotted for its planned 30 navigation satellites.
The Cornell group initially thought it might be violating copyright law by publishing the codes but was told by university lawyers "that cracking the encryption of creative content, like music or a movie, is illegal, but the encryption used by a navigation signal is fair game," according to Mark Psiaki, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Cornell and co-leader of Cornell's GPS Laboratory.
"Imagine someone builds a lighthouse," argued Psiaki. "And I've gone by and see how often the light flashes and measured where the coordinates are. Can the owner charge me a licensing fee for looking at the light? … No. How is looking at the Galileo satellite any different?"
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