Questions
The short answers.
Consulting the Oracle, J. W. Waterhouse, 1884
Anopticon
What is Anopticon?
Software that tests the positions ships report against what physics allows, from data that already exists.
What data does it use?
Public AIS broadcasts, satellite radar and imagery, weather records, and ship physics.
Does it need its own sensors or hardware?
No. Nothing is fitted to a ship or launched into orbit.
How is it different from a ship-tracking map?
A map shows what ships say. Anopticon tests whether it could be true.
Where is it based?
Gujarat, India, since 2026. Say it an-OP-ti-kon.
Is the research peer reviewed?
It is under review. Code and data are public, so anyone can rerun it.
Ships and signals
What is AIS spoofing?
A ship broadcasting a position or identity that is not real, because its satellite fix was faked or its messages forged.
What is the difference between GNSS jamming and spoofing?
Jamming drowns the satellite signal, so positions freeze or vanish. Spoofing replaces it, so the ship reports the wrong place.
Is AIS encrypted or authenticated?
Neither. Any transmitter can send any name and any position.
Can it be detected?
Often, from the data that already exists.
Sources
- IMO: AIS transponders
- SeaSpoofFinder, arXiv, 2026
Anything else: vishmayraj@anopticon.com