Can Satelites be hacked?

Just recently the US hired an 'elite crew' of hackers to work for the government..


Here's a question to ponder.. can a satelite be hacked?

I seriously doubt anyone knows for sure.. but if you had the right satelite equipment, and enough monetary backing, could you essentially 'tap' into our thousands of satelite networks?

If this is possible, it'd be a hell of a feat..

Satellites Could Get Hacked (allAfrica)
The US government's General Accounting Office, responsible for
checking up on the US Congress, recently released a report in
which it says satellites are particularly vulnerable to hacking
attacks. The report says the federal government has clearly
overlooked the risk posed to these communications units...
allafrica.com...

Satellite systems are also vulnerable to intentional human attacks targeting ground stations, satellites in space, or interfere with the tracking and control links. Table 2 shows some of the possible intentional threats that have to be considered.

satjournal.tcom.ohiou.edu...

Ground stations, links, and supporting communication networks are all vulnerable to cyber attacks similar to those used in terrestrial computer networks and the Internet. Potential cyber attacks may include viruses, denial of service, unauthorized monitoring and data interception. [7] Attackers can inject fake signals or traffic and have unauthorized access to control services and databases. Earth-to-space links are subject to electronic interference capable of disrupting or denying satellite communication. An attack can spoof a satellite receiver by emitting a false signal for deception purposes. False commands given in the telemetry controlling the spacecraft could cause a satellite to move out of assigned orbit and even to destroy itself. It is also possible that viruses injected into terrestrial computer networks associated with space systems could lead to loss of the spacecraft.

[edit on 5/24/2005 by QuietSoul]

I'm sure it is. After all, there are systems here on Earth which communicate and tell the satelites what to do. All you'd have to do is send the right data stream to the satelite to get it into recieve mode.

I'm guessing the pseudo-password protection of them is a wee bit more involved than, say, hacking your local porn site, but for a nation it should be feasable.

That'd be an interesting tactic if we ever went to war with China -- take out their eyes, and we would have an gigantic advantage.

I have often wondered about the same idea, a country could spend billions putting satellites up into space (eg USA) only to have a country like say China with sufficient code breaking technology to take them over and control them as they see fit. Maybe a country like China already has a backup plan like this to take down GPS or even take it out of the US's hands and use it for their own military.

Probably tough to impossible -

Remember the Directv hacks and the issues they've had and still have with the latest generation of boxes - same thing. They can change the code on the fly to allow reception and I'm sure the military kids thought about this one long and hard for the receiving end on the birds....

Think about it - signal strength checks (for off axis hacks versus regular uplink site), frequency used, time of day for transmission, encoding scheme and encryption method and I'm sure lot's more things can easily be changed on a random basis to keep the buggers out....

Hacking satellite networks is a pretty old trade and still relatively easy today.. if a little more complex.
Back in the day you just had to crawl up on a gas station roof, steal their uplink dish, buy yourself an uplink controller, plug in your RS232 serial connection, and start having fun.
These days, eh, more layers of "protection" each as mundane as the whole.
Fractal Security! Ahahaha... erm yeah nm

milsat would be pointless. operate on frequency modulation with the thought of someone jamming it in mind.

If it's man made technology, it can be hacked.

Originally posted by Ocelot
If it's man made technology, it can be hacked.

I agree, hey everybody heres a scary thought what if somembody hacked the GPS satellites, that the primary targeting system used in long range missiles.

Originally posted by JamesMcMahn

I agree, hey everybody heres a scary thought what if somembody hacked the GPS satellites, that the primary targeting system used in long range missiles.

What missiles are you referring to? No US ICBM's use GPS, and most of the Tomahawk/ALCM's don't use GPS either. They use advanced inertial navigation systems, and the cruise missiles also use terrain mapping radar.

GPS is far too fragile for the US to trust it for it's most valuable weapons.

Originally posted by QuietSoul
Here's a question to ponder.. can a satelite be hacked?

Why do it from Earth?

Send up a specialized crew on the space shuttle…capture the satellite…and do what you will...

Originally posted by kinglizard

Originally posted by QuietSoul
Here's a question to ponder.. can a satelite be hacked?

Why do it from Earth?

Send up a specialized crew on the space shuttle…capture the satellite…and do what you will...

That would be a dead giveaway though, you can't miss a Shutte Flight. If a Nation did well they are not threat anyway.

I would be more worried about China hacking US Sats as they got some really talented programmers over there.

I would be more worried about China hacking US Sats as they got some really talented programmers over there.

Pretty safe bet many already have. Theres been a cozy "Hacker War" between the US and China ever since one of our subs surfaced into a fishing boat or whatever it was that happened. It's been nitpicky between us for a while but thats when it was no holds barred balls to the wall "IM GONNA 0WN J00."

If I remember right the whitehouse homepage was one of the first of ours to get hacked, in turn some chinese banking system was taken down, etc etc. Things have quieted a bit lately but thats most likely due to my not being well informed.

"All your spyplane are belong to us."

I believe that absolutely can be, and are being, "hacked". They are likely being hacked directly through outside programs and indirectly by going through the owner's programs.

I say it is unlikely to hack satellites from the outside. The only way it could be done is by getting someone on the inside to do it for you, good luck finding that cooperative individual.

Even if you tried hacking a SAT from the outside, hacking the systems would be a difficult job in itself.

Originally posted by Majestic12
Even if you tried hacking a SAT from the outside, hacking the systems would be a difficult job in itself.

Difficult, but I imagine it would be possible. Communication between satellites and ground control take place over heavily encrypted signals that are sent directly and indirectly (through other satellites) for communication. If someone were to break the encryption, they would be able to not only send commands, but also have a look at the data coming back. I imagine there are plenty of satellites up there without sufficient encryption in their programs, afterall many are very old.

You're not supposed to talk about hacking on ATS! Better all edit your posts before a mod finds this! Oh wait, the edit buttons gone! Really now children, hacking? Sure to get the government secrets but not here. You could be banned. The shame.......

Rule No.16 as stated by his holiness, Simon Gray:
16.) Discussion of illegal activities such as drug use, drug paraphernalia, hacking, etc. are strictly forbidden.

Hacking is perfectly legal under Kansas state law. You can enter and view all you want but just cannot alter anything, legally. Although Federal tends to override state so when the feds come to town they tend to get their way.

Originally posted by apc
Hacking is perfectly legal under Kansas state law. You can enter and view all you want but just cannot alter anything, legally. Although Federal tends to override state so when the feds come to town they tend to get their way.

APC, Actually hacking is against Kansas Law. Reference
21-3755. Computer crime; unlawful computer access.

I had to check after you said that it was okay to view information but not alter. This was a scary thought with the on-going issue of identity theft and the goverment contains a great deal of personal information , so I had a hard time believing what you said.

Originally posted by QuietSoul

[...]
Here's a question to ponder.. can a satelite be hacked?
[...]

Ok, maybe not hacked as such, but was there not some suggestion that some countries (cough NK, cough cough) were developing an EMP device that could be used in space, one would assume from a relatively cheap sat with just a bit of guidance hardware to move it into postion.

Cleary no good if you need to acquire that asset for your own purposes, but handy enough if you need to move to a less asymmetrical position with one's enemy.

APC, Actually hacking is against Kansas Law.

Ahahaha awesome.
They FINALLY fixed that lol. I bet it was after INK, Information Network of Kansas, got rooted about twelve dozen times (it was a gross network, ar ar).
I guess I cant tell the men in blue to eat me anymore.
No wait, I still can.