Mirage — SENSE Loop Corruption
Corrupt what the platform perceives.
Classification
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Active — alters target state |
| Target | SENSE loop |
| Effect | Platform acts on false perception of its environment |
| Phases | Primarily Phase E (Engagement) |
| Hardening Viability | Tier 0-1: high. Tier 2: requires defeat of sensor hardening. Tier 3: requires novel research |
Definition
Mirage techniques corrupt the target’s perception of its environment. The DECIDE and ACT loops continue functioning correctly — they operate on false inputs. The platform does what its logic tells it to do, but its logic is working with attacker-controlled data.
The distinction from Override: Override commands the platform directly. Mirage makes the platform command itself.
Primary Technique: GPS Spoofing
Civil GNSS signals (GPS L1 at 1575.42 MHz, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo) are unencrypted and unauthenticated. A spoofed signal that arrives at the receiver with sufficient power and plausible characteristics is accepted as legitimate.
Spoofing Modes
| Mode | Effect |
|---|---|
| Position shift | Gradually drift perceived position — redirect flight path |
| Altitude manipulation | Spoof altitude to trigger altitude-dependent failsafes |
| Velocity manipulation | Spoof ground speed to corrupt airspeed failover logic |
| Time manipulation | Disrupt time-dependent functions |
| Denial via noise | Overwhelm receiver — trigger GPS-loss failsafe |
Key Parameters
| Parameter | Significance |
|---|---|
| Signal power relative to legitimate | Must overpower real satellites. Too much power is detectable |
| Position ramp rate | Gradual shift avoids sudden-jump detection |
| Constellation geometry | Must present plausible HDOP/VDOP |
| Multi-constellation coherence | If receiver tracks GPS + GLONASS, both must be spoofed |
Secondary Techniques
Camera/LIDAR Blinding
High-intensity light (visible or IR) at optical sensors. Degrades visual navigation and ISR capability.
Adversarial Patches
ML-based visual navigation and object detection corrupted by adversarial patterns placed in the environment.
Magnetometer Spoofing
Strong localized magnetic fields corrupt compass readings, causing heading errors during GPS-denied operation.
Mirage vs. Hardening
| Hardening | Impact on Mirage |
|---|---|
| GPS authentication (Galileo OSNMA, M-code) | Defeats basic spoofing |
| Multi-constellation cross-check | Increases complexity — must spoof all constellations |
| GPS/INS fusion | Gradual spoofing may work; sudden shifts detected by IMU |
| Multi-sensor fusion (GPS + vision + LIDAR) | Requires multi-modal spoofing |
| Anti-spoofing firmware (jump detection) | Requires gradual ramp, power matching |
Mirage is not eliminated until all sensor modalities are authenticated and cross-checked.