Satellite Vulnerabilities
The following are links to notes from a presentation I gave at
DefCon in
July of 1996. I will be updating these pages with new information
as time permits.
Introduction
Since 1957 satellite communication systems have made enormous
advances in capability and performance. Television, telephone, data
and other services sent over satellites have become integral
to our society. Unfortunately, security has not kept pace. Current
systems are vulnerable to a variety of attacks, and future systems
promise little improvement.
There is also a great deal of mis-information about satellite
systems, how they work, and what is possible and not possible for
determined opponents to achieve.
Glossary
Click here for a list of some
terms that are commonly used in the satellite industry.
US Geostationary Communication Satellites
This is a list of domestic communication
satellites in geosynchronous orbit.
Global Positioning System
Here are some notes and facts on GPS and GLONASS
navigation satellites.
Hypothetical Attacks
Here are just a few potential attacks
against existing satellites.
It is worth noting that the most likely cause of damage to or loss of
service from a satellite is the actual operator. For instance,
AMSC partially damaged their own bird (AMSC-1) soon after launch
by inadvertantly overloading one of the on-board amplifiers.