SOLARWINDS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM: TO GO WHERE NO HACKER HAS GONE BEFORE
By: Erez Podoly
Tags: Cybersecurity, Satellite Technology, Hacking, Stock Market, Space

Hackers (allegedly nation-state actors) compromised last week SolarWinds software to lead a massive malware campaign affecting U.S. federal agencies and other governments and private companies worldwide. Cyber security threats pose a huge challenge for aging technologies of the satellite industry, which is on the verge of transition between generations of companies. Next generation is better prepared for cyber security challenges, and yet - a gap of a decade forces older companies to adopt new methods to prevent hijacking of their satellites and hacking their communications.

The world’s daily functional routine is heavily dependent on space infrastructure - about 2700 operational satellites and numerous ground stations - for communications, financial services, weather monitoring, defense, air and maritime transport and trade, to mention a few purposes. This dependence poses cyber threats for space systems. Nevertheless, these threats are unfortunately under-recognized, and the space industry is mostly driven by commercial market demands, the pressure to speed up development and production and to cut costs. This leads companies to cut corners in areas like cyber security that are secondary to getting satellites in space.

All satellites and associated ground infrastructures are subjected to remote cyber-attacks. These are not hypothetical concerns: The Center for Strategic International Studies, has documented this year growing cyber and physical threats to U.S. and allied satellites. Space systems are vulnerable because many were created before cyber security became a top priority. Their vulnerabilities — like hardcoded credentials, used by ships, planes, and the military — make access by sophisticated and less-sophisticated actors incredibly easy: protocols explaining how to hack satellite internet and live demonstrations of piracy on U.S. Navy satellites are widely spread.

Short and long term history include many hostile incidents of satellite hijacking, for instance — as happened in 1998, when hackers took control of the U.S.-German ROSAT X-Ray satellite and a decade later, when two U.S. environment-monitoring satellites were interfered. The complexity of satellite architectures offers many possible entry points for a hacker from which to eavesdrop, tamper with information, cause a service interruption or take control of the satellites. With the successful completion of SpaceX Demo-2 mission and as spaceflights transform from a public endeavor to a commercial industry, more spacecraft connect with ground-based assets and users, making the attack surface exponentially larger. Vulnerabilities grow hand in hand with these entry points.

Some space cyber security standards and regulations are evolving slowly (e.g., the Committee on National Security Systems and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), and this fall, to face potential satellite hacks and hijacks, the White House Issued Space-Security Directive to Industry, urging manufacturers to design their hardware and software so that operators can monitor and adapt to activities that could disrupt space system operations. And thus, while regulation and legislation lag behind the constantly evolving technology, the effective response to space-based cyber threats is dependent on creative and innovative solutions of the private sector.

The new generation of Satellite Communication companies is emerging: SpaceX has received the U.S. FCC approval to launch 12,000 satellites in the coming decade. OneWeb seeks to create a “satellite constellation” - a network of 48,000 Low Earth Orbit satellites around the earth, has raised more than $1 billion and launched the first 74 satellites. If either company successfully launches its satellite network and can offer broadband at an affordable price, older Satellite Communication companies could lose significant market share.

This Generation Change will make some of the recurring cyber security issues disappear: Vulnerabilities found in satellite-based communications and internet system of Iridium Communications (IRDM), and the vulnerability discovered in Inmarsat’s SATCOM control software, which allowed an attacker to take arbitrary control of the system - may vanish as new technologies replace old ones. But to stay relevant, EchoStar (SATS) and other older Satellite Communication companies will need to 1) Partner or partially own new generation companies and 2) Embrace new technologies that provide better services and specifically improved cyber security protection. These may help the older industry to grow for another decade, until new protocols, regulations, technology, satellites, and new hackers take over the space.