Ground Truth: Windward’s 2026 Commitment to Verified Maritime Intelligence

By Ariel Zibziner, VP Business Services, Windward

Data Integrity in an Era of High-Frequency Signal Manipulation

As we conclude 2025, the maritime domain is characterized by a trust deficit in digital signaling.

The convergence of major global conflicts — continued hostilities in Ukraine, Houthi attacks disrupting Red Sea transit, suspected infrastructure sabotage in the Baltic, and a U.S. blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers — has transitioned GNSS interference from a localized anomaly to a systemic operational risk. Our internal telemetry throughout 2025 tracked a significant increase in both GPS jamming and sophisticated spoofing incidents, rendering standard AIS data increasingly unreliable for high-stakes decision-making.

The numbers tell the story: by Q2, over 12,000 spoofing incidents affected more than 3,000 vessels in under two weeks. 97% of impacted vessels registered false port calls, flooding compliance systems with false positives. By Q3, we detected spoofing activity in 27 Exclusive Economic Zones. Meanwhile, Russia’s shadow fleet continued to employ identity laundering, flag hopping, and AIS manipulation to evade sanctions.

At Windward, we have responded to this volatility by shifting from data aggregation to multi-source AI-based validation. 

In 2026, the value of a platform is measured not by the volume of data it provides, but by its ability to filter out digital noise and manipulation.

Verified Intelligence at Scale

To ensure our customers maintained a proactive stance, we executed targeted investments in our service and data infrastructure:

Multi-Layer Remote Sensing with Object Detection & Verification

We fully integrated advanced remote sensing capabilities into the Windward platform. By fusing Electro-Optical (EO) imagery, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and Radio Frequency (RF) signal detection, we provide a physical truth-layer that operates independently of AIS.

Government-Commercial Intelligence Transfer

As the market leader in the government sector, we identify state-level tampering technologies at their inception. We translated this knowledge into commercial solutions, protecting users from manipulation tactics as they cross into the merchant fleet — a pattern we observed throughout 2025 as spoofing techniques spread from conflict zones to commercial shipping lanes.

World-Class DataOps Team

We built a service organization of more than 60 experts dedicated to proactively maintaining vessel and ownership data. Using advanced AI-based tools and remote sensing layers, this team performs cross-functional verification to ensure the vessel profiles and ownership information you rely on are accurate and up-to-date.

GNSS Interference Mitigation

Through multi-source fusion, we successfully reduced the impact of GNSS manipulation on platform vessels to near-zero. When the world sees ghost signals, Windward provides physical confirmation.

Critical Maritime Infrastructure Protection

Launched in February 2025, this solution addresses the emerging threat to undersea cables and pipelines. A concern validated by the string of Baltic Sea incidents, including the December 31 seizure of the vessel Fitburg after it damaged telecommunications cables between Finland and Estonia.

Unmatched Service Speed

We improved our SLAs to provide next-business-day updates for ownership information and business-critical events. Speed is the ultimate defense against shifting risks.

Expanded Professional Services

Our maritime analysts and consultants now incorporate remote sensing insights into their scope, providing high-fidelity intelligence reports that go beyond standard AIS-based analysis.

Open Support for the Maritime Ecosystem

We remain the only solution that allows non-customers to receive support regarding vessels of interest via our public inquiry page. Transparency is essential for global maritime safety.

Strategic Outlook for 2026

Our mission for the coming year is to continue investing in the people and technology that make Windward the most trusted source of maritime truth.

The conditions that defined 2025 — geopolitical instability, expanding sanctions regimes, increasingly sophisticated evasion tactics — will persist.

In this environment, Windward will continue to prioritize insight over information. Our roadmap is focused on deepening the integration of space-based intelligence to provide a single source of truth in an increasingly manipulated maritime environment.

We are committed to providing the technical precision and expert support required for you to make trusted, data-backed decisions in 2026.