The test hacking of the satellite took place as part of CYSAT, one of the largest cybersecurity and space industry events held in Paris. According to CYSAT organizers, the purpose of the tests was to show aerospace engineers how hackers think and what damage they can do to a satellite, as well as how an attack can be detected, corrected and ultimately prevented.

Hackers have successfully demonstrated the risks a compromised satellite can pose to the entire space ecosystem; they gained access to the probe’s control interface and were able to manipulate its system, such as jamming and loading the imaging system by hiding an object. malicious code

Real threats to spacecraft

Pierre-Yves Jolivet, Vice President of Cyber ​​Solutions at Thales, said that with the increasing number of military and civilian applications relying on satellite systems today, the space industry must consider cybersecurity at every stage of a satellite’s lifecycle. The training provided an opportunity to raise awareness of potential flaws and vulnerabilities to increase the cyber resilience of satellites and space programs.

Aging satellites, vulnerable to hackers from hostile states like Russia, have enormous potential for cyberattacks, according to Charles Denyer, a cybersecurity and national security expert. This posed a major challenge, as satellite imagery is a coveted asset in conflict and is used by both sides to assess strategic troop positions.

How do satellites help Ukraine in the war?

Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites provided Ukraine with a stable Internet against a full-scale invasion of Russia, where critical connections of Ukrainian communications infrastructure and critical services were disabled. It was Starlink equipment that made it possible to quickly restore important infrastructure nodes and continue the war.

Meanwhile, China has declared war on the Starlink group, which has about 3,500 satellites in Earth orbit, and is developing its own fleet of satellites capable of carrying military payloads, equipped with new artificial intelligence weapons, including lasers and powerful microwaves.

Testing carried out by ESA on its own nano-satellite highlights the growing need for cybersecurity tools in the space industry. With the increasing dependence on satellite systems to provide critical services on Earth, it is important to consider cybersecurity at every stage of the satellite lifecycle to increase the cyber resilience of satellites and space programs.