The new attack surface: from space to smartphone

https://spacenews.com/the-new-attack-surface-from-space-to-smartphone/

Key vulnerabilities to watch 

1. **Signal jamming & spoofing: **Jamming floods a satellite’s receivers with gobbledygook, cutting off legitimate users. Spoofing mimics real signals to hijack data or trick devices into unsafe connections. 

2. **Telemetry, tracking & control (TT&C) exploits: **TT&C systems manage the satellite’s vital functions. If breached, an attacker could redirect, disable or even take control of a satellite. 

3. **Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks: **Intercepting data between the user and ground station. It’s complex but possible, especially if encryption or routing is weak. 

4. **Physical threats: **Cybersecurity doesn’t stop at software. Anti-satellite weapons, space debris, or directed energy attacks like space lasers could knock satellites offline or damage components. 

5. Ground station weaknesses: These Earth-based links often run on cloud platforms, leaving them exposed to phishing, unpatched systems or misconfigurations. 

6. Supply chain attacks: Satellites are built from parts sourced worldwide. A malicious chip or compromised firmware update could introduce vulnerabilities. 

7. **Human factors: **Insider threats remain a wildcard. A careless administrator, a disgruntled engineer or a poorly secured login could unravel the best technical defences.