What is it about?

This study examines how gradual GNSS spoofing can disrupt drone relays used to support 5G backhaul. We propose a method called Cooperative Spoofing Detection and Adaptive Link Reconfiguration (CSD-ALR), which combines local movement checks, information from neighbouring drones, and evidence of gradual position drift. The resulting risk score is then used to adapt access and backhaul links so that communication service can continue when a relay’s reported position becomes unreliable.

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Why is it important?

Drone-assisted networks can extend connectivity in dense, temporary, or infrastructure-constrained environments, but they depend heavily on trustworthy positioning. A spoofed GNSS signal can therefore affect not only navigation, but also user association, backhaul selection, latency, and service availability. Our results indicate that linking spoofing detection directly to communication reconfiguration can improve service resilience under gradual GNSS carry-off attacks. In the evaluated 200-UAV constrained-backhaul case with the largest observed gain, the method increased throughput by 459.07 Mbps, reduced latency by 58.53 ms, improved demand satisfaction by 0.2617, and reduced outage by 0.4420 relative to spoofing without defence.

Perspectives

For me, an important aspect of this work is moving beyond the question of whether GNSS spoofing can be detected. In a drone-assisted network, detection is only useful if the communication system can respond to the loss of trustworthy positioning. This study therefore focuses on connecting security evidence with practical service decisions so that the network can adapt while the attack is unfolding.

Abima Obim
Manchester Metropolitan University

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This page is a summary of: GNSS-Spoofing-Resilient Drone-Assisted 5G Backhaul via Cooperative Detection and Adaptive Link Reconfiguration, October 2026, ACM (Association for Computing Machinery),
DOI: 10.1145/3842435.3843965.
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