Samuel Jero (MIT Lincoln Laboratory), Juliana Furgala (MIT Lincoln Laboratory), Max A Heller (MIT Lincoln Laboratory), Benjamin Nahill (MIT Lincoln Laboratory), Samuel Mergendahl (MIT Lincoln Laboratory), Richard Skowyra (MIT Lincoln Laboratory)

Satellites and the services enabled by them, like GPS, real-time world-wide imaging, weather tracking, and worldwide communication, play an increasingly important role in modern life. To support these services satellite software is becoming increasingly complex and connected. As a result, concerns about its security are becoming prevalent.

While the focus of security for satellites has historically been on encrypting the communications link, we argue that a fuller consideration of the security of satellites is necessary and presents unique challenges. Satellites are becoming increasingly accessible to attackers–thanks to supply chain attacks and Internet connected ground stations–and present a unique set of challenges for security practitioners. These challenges include the lack of any real ability for a human to be physically present to repair or recover these systems, a focus on safety and availability over confidentiality and integrity, and the need to deal with radiation-induced faults. This work characterizes the cyber threats to satellite systems, surveys the unique challenges for satellite software, and presents a future vision for research in this area.

View More Papers

CamPro: Camera-based Anti-Facial Recognition

Wenjun Zhu (Zhejiang University), Yuan Sun (Zhejiang University), Jiani Liu (Zhejiang University), Yushi Cheng (Zhejiang University), Xiaoyu Ji (Zhejiang University), Wenyuan Xu (Zhejiang University)

Read More

Leaking the Privacy of Groups and More: Understanding Privacy...

Jiangrong Wu (Sun Yat-sen University), Yuhong Nan (Sun Yat-sen University), Luyi Xing (Indiana University Bloomington), Jiatao Cheng (Sun Yat-sen University), Zimin Lin (Alibaba Group), Zibin Zheng (Sun Yat-sen University), Min Yang (Fudan University)

Read More

Improving the Robustness of Transformer-based Large Language Models with...

Lujia Shen (Zhejiang University), Yuwen Pu (Zhejiang University), Shouling Ji (Zhejiang University), Changjiang Li (Penn State), Xuhong Zhang (Zhejiang University), Chunpeng Ge (Shandong University), Ting Wang (Penn State)

Read More

VETEOS: Statically Vetting EOSIO Contracts for the “Groundhog Day”...

Levi Taiji Li (University of Utah), Ningyu He (Peking University), Haoyu Wang (Huazhong University of Science and Technology), Mu Zhang (University of Utah)

Read More