National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval’s office will investigate the alleged GPS spoofing incident that caused a massive technological glitch at the Delhi International Airport last week and disrupted flight services, India Today reported.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will also participate in the investigation, he added.
New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) faced a massive technical problem on November 7, delaying and disrupting more than 800 flights after the air traffic control (ATC) system was affected. According to reports, the incident was caused by several incidents of GPS spoofing that contributed to the disruption of air traffic.
Probe malfunction at Delhi airport: What we know
The report said that NSA National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) Navin Kumar Singh was appointed in August 2025 and his office is responsible for these matters.
The NCSC functions under the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) in coordination with other agencies and government bodies, including the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and India’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) on cyber security threats that require a cohesive national response.
According to the report, authorities will determine the cause and extent of the impact of the GPS spoofing incident and determine whether it was a cyber attack, intentional interference or a simple technical glitch.
Aviation Minister reviews operations at Delhi Airport
On November 9, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu visited the ATC tower at Delhi Airport to review operations following a technical glitch. There, he directed officials to conduct a detailed root cause analysis and increase system redundancy to make the ATC network more resilient for the future.
Secretary (MoCA) Samir Kumar Sinha, Chairman (AAI) Vipin Kumar and other senior officials were also present.
“Over the past two days, teams from AAI, ANS and ECIL have worked tirelessly to identify and resolve the issue while ensuring passenger safety through manual coordination. As the systems are now fully restored, I have directed officials to conduct a detailed root cause analysis and increase system redundancy to make our ATC network more future-proof,” Kinjarapu said in a post on X.
What is GPS spoofing?
According to McAfee, GPS spoofing is a technique that allows you to trick or manipulate a GPS receiver into sending fake GPS signals. Exercise manipulates GPS signals and can trick the receiver into providing inaccurate location data, which can even lead to inaccurate device data.
“This form of cyberattack undermines the reliability of GPS data, which is vital for a variety of applications, from navigation to time synchronization and more,” the cybersecurity software firm said.
The malpractice has developed into a major threat over the years due to the easy availability of cheap hardware and software capable of sending fake GPS signals.
