# A Survey on Satellite Communication System Security
## 4 Attacks in Satellite Communication Systems
### Availability Threats  
1. Jamming  
A jamming attack in an SCS is a deliberate interference with satellite signals. It involves transmitting signals at the same frequencies used by the satellite, thereby overwhelming the legitimate signals with noise or other forms of interference. This can degrade, obstruct, or prevent successful communication via the satellite. This is because an SCS relies on \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline
**Characteristic** & **Passive Eavesdropping** & **Active Eavesdropping** \\ \hline Victim Awareness & Impossible & Possible \\ \hline Impact in & Personal Information & Cryptography (Decryption) \\ \hline Technical difficulty & Easy & Need Sophisticated Hardware or Software \\ \hline Mitigation & Easy & Hard \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Comparison of eavesdropping attack methods. wireless RF signals, which are inherently weak and can be easily overwhelmed. The goal of jamming can range from simple disruption of communication to more complex strategies aimed at deceiving or manipulating the satellite system's operations. The techniques used in jamming can vary, including broadband and narrowband jamming, each with its specific method of disrupting SCSs. Also, various forms of attacks are illustrated in Figure 6.  
**Broadband Jamming:** This type of jamming covers a wide range of frequencies simultaneously. It is designed to disrupt communication by flooding multiple frequency bands with noise or false signals. Broadband jammers are less precise but can be effective against a wide array of communication systems at once. The authors of [36] investigate the impact of jamming on the GPS and the GLONASS system, particularly in maritime navigation. They offer a detailed analysis of how varying the jamming intensities affects these satellite navigation systems, noting a decrease in the carrier-to-noise ratio and precision in pseudorange measurements, leading to a compromised positioning accuracy. This study finds the acquisition phase of receivers more vulnerable to interference than the tracking phase. Notably, under jamming conditions, GLONASS signals perform better than those of the GPS. This research included both static and dynamic jamming tests to explore the effects on different GPS receivers. Similarly, ref. [37] investigates the vulnerabilities of the GPS in maritime navigation, particularly focusing on the effects of GPS jamming. It was found that GPS jamming significantly impacts maritime safety by affecting on-shore vessel traffic services, aids-to-navigation (AtoNs), ship navigation, situational awareness, and emergency communications. [PERSON] et al. [38] explore reactive jamming in SCS scenarios. Reactive jamming is characterized by a jammer's ability to sense a portion of the spectrum and transmit a jamming signal upon detecting a signal it wants to disrupt. This technique can counter the processing gain associated with the Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS). **Narrowband Jamming:** Narrowband jamming focuses on disrupting specific frequencies or a narrow range of frequencies. This method is more precise and is used when the frequency of the target communication is known. It is effective at blocking specific channels without affecting others. Ref. [39] focuses on jamming attacks against GPS receivers using Direct Sequence Spread-Spectrum (DSSS) signals. It highlights the GPS's vulnerability to intentional and  
Figure 6: Illustration of narrow and broadband jamming attacks. unintentional interference due to its weak signal strength, which can be easily overpowered. A key aspect of this paper is its proposal of a cascade filter approach for countering multiple frequency modulation (FM) jammers, especially effective at high jammer-to-signal ratios. This approach prioritizes the signal-to-noise ratio as the performance measure and treats FM interference as instantly narrowband. DoS and DDoS attacks are malicious efforts aimed at disrupting the normal functioning of a targeted server, service, or network.