The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently posted a short video that provides a helpful overview of how critical infrastructure depends on positioning, navigation, and timing. The new video titled What is PNT? explains how energy, telecommunications, and transportation are just a few of the critical infrastructure sectors that rely on PNT.
While many of our critical infrastructure’s needs for PNT are met by GPS, current types of infrastructure call for uninterrupted access to PNT services to function. This is why they require a backup from alternative PNT providers in case the GPS signal is inadvertently disrupted or intentionally manipulated. Additionally, new applications such as autonomous vehicles, location-based services, smart energy grids, and other intelligent technologies will depend on many diverse forms of PNT to meet requirements for performance specifications and operational characteristics.
NIST is working with industry and government to help ensure the future of PNT services, and that includes their efforts to create a Cybersecurity Profile for the Responsible Use of PNT Services in response to a directive included in the national resilience-oriented Executive Order 13905.
