Trump signs order to test vulnerabilities of U.S. infrastructure to GPS outage

U.S. President Donald Trump reacts to a question from a reporter following a signing ceremony for the Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers Act inside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., February 11, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order directing U.S. agencies to test the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure systems in the event of a disruption or manipulation of global positioning system services (GPS).

GPS is critical to a variety of purposes ranging from electrical power grids, weather forecasting, traffic signals, smartphone applications and vehicle navigation systems. The order said “disruption or manipulation of these services has the potential to adversely affect the national and economic security of the United States.” Trump’s order directed federal agencies to within one year develop a plan to test infrastructure systems.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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