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Satellite navigation is a key strategic asset, as is any system that carries national and trans-national communications. Imagine being able to interfere with a
by xenophonf 7y ago
Satellite navigation is a key strategic asset, as is any system that carries national and trans-national communications. Imagine being able to interfere with a navy's navigation, maybe not enough to stop them from getting somewhere but definitely enough to slow them down. Or imagine being able to change the position of a communications satellite, a device that is basically just dumb microwave relay---and microwave, I'll remind you, is highly directional. Or what about getting access to the ground station's network traffic? I'll bet that even when it's encrypted, there's still useful signals intelligence to be gleaned, and when it isn't encrypted (or encrypted badly), boy howdy.
Satellites and their attendant infrastructure cost billions of dollars to deploy and maintain. They are incredibly valuable targets, making it worth an attacker's while to penetrate them. This is way beyond simple vandalism or ransomware.
- closeparen 7y agoI would expect ground stations that important to be on military bases, not random locations that a private company is scouting. No?
- kube-system 7y agoA ground station can also point at things it's not supposed to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Midnight_broadcast_signal_intrusion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Midnight_broadcast_sig...
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- tracker1 7y agoDon't really know any specifics, but I'd imagine being able to use the compromised satellites as simple rams against military satellites could be a significant risk, depending on the size of the fleet... even if not destroying a target. Not to mention just plain destruction of bringing down a fleet of satellites.
- nradov 7y agoVery few commercial satellites carry enough maneuvering fuel to ram any military satellite. And none of them are equipped with the sensors needed for an intercept.