Defend against

Jamming

What is Jamming?

Jamming is a form of cyberattack that disrupts or blocks wireless communication at the RF level. The simplest and most prevalent mode of jamming is to broadcast a high-powered RF signal at 4G/5G frequencies that just drowns out the signal from cell towers and mobile phones.

Any wireless network – including cellular, GPS/GNSS, LMR, and Wi-Fi – can be jammed. A sufficiently high-powered jammer can effectively block communications to and from both mobile phones and cell towers, effectively shutting down the entire cell and all connected users.  Low-powered jammers can cause noise or fading on voice calls, cause data loss, or prevent phones from connecting to the network. Jamming is illegal and often malicious, used by bad actors with criminal intent. It is also very difficult to catch someone in the act - by the time a jamming incident has been detected and reported, the perpetrator has long left the scene.

Jammers: Easy to buy, easy to build
While jamming is highly disruptive, it is also very easy to accomplish. Building a jammer is within the scope of most electronics hobbyists: schematics and circuit diagrams are widely available for use as instructional DIY projects. For those without the skills, jammers can be bought at any number of online marketplaces for a few hundred dollars. Despite the FCC periodically cracking down on the sale of jammers, seizures of jamming equipment have jumped nine-fold between 2021 and 2025.

Defense against jamming
ISCO offers real-time anti-jamming and interference mitigation solutions for cellular networks. Our algorithms automatically detect, log, and cancel jamming signals based on their RF signature, helping to keep users connected and networks operating safely.

Anti-Jamming Case Study

One of the few legal uses of jammers is in prisons. A jammer was used by Mexican prison authorities to block cell phone usage by inmates. The prison is located close to the US border, and the jamming signal escaped from the prison (guards, walls, and barbed wire may confine inmates, but not wireless signals). This severely affected the operations of mobile network operators (MNO) on the American side of the border.

With the help of national regulatory bodies, the jammer's transmit power was reduced. However, this did not resolve the issue and the US MNOs still suffered from performance degradation at many cell sites.

ISCO's solution was deployed, significantly improving performance metrics including the number of connected users, downlink speed, and throughput by over 100%.

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Jamming News

Homeland Security issues warning: seizure of jammers jumps 830%

June 2025

The number of jammers seized by Customs and Border Protection have spiked by 830% since 2021. Home invasion, burglaries, and bank robberies were among the cases cited involving the use of jammers.

Canada allows the use of jammers in prisons

March 2025

A pilot project to deploy and evaluate jamming technology may be the gateway to widespread usage in Canadian federal prisons.

$2.5 million crime spree aided by jammers

October 2024

More than a dozen bank heists in California have been tied to a criminal gang. Ten individuals have been charged by the FBI.

FCC investigation into jammers sold online

March 2024

Despite the fact that jammers are illegal, an NBC News report found jammers available for sale on vendor websites and online marketplaces. Amazon is among the retailers under investigation by the FBI.

31% of first responders affected by interference

July 2024

In the SAFECOM Nationwide Survey of public safety organizations, frequency interference ranked third in the list of factors that affect communications for first responders.


Private 5G for Defense and Public Safety


According to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) survey of 4,933 first responders, 9% report that frequency interference affects their ability to communicate to a great extent, and 22% to some extent.

In this white paper, industry analysts Frost & Sullivan examines the opportunities and challenges of deploying private 5G networks in the defense and public safety sectors, with a focus on radio frequency (RF) issues.

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