Satellite Cybersecurity Exercise Conducted by Thales, ESA

In the first satellite cybersecurity exercise of its kind, Thales seized control of an ESA demo satellite during CYSAT, the European event entirely dedicated to cybersecurity for the space industry.

"With the growing number of military as well as civil applications that are reliant on satellite systems today, the space industry needs to take cybersecurity into account at every stage in the satellite's life cycle, from initial design to systems development and maintenance."

Pierre-Yves Jolivet, VP Cyber Solutions, Thales.

ESA challenged cybersecurity experts in the space industry ecosystem to disrupt the operation of the agency's OPS-SAT demonstration nanosatellite. Participants used a variety of ethical hacking techniques to take control of the system used to manage the payload's global positioning system, attitude control system and onboard camera. Unauthorized access to these systems can cause serious damage to the satellite or lead to a loss of control over its mission. Thales's offensive cybersecurity team worked with the Group's Information Technology Security Evaluation Facility (ITSEF) for this unique exercise, which demonstrates the need for a high level of cyber resilience in the very specific operating environment of space.

The Thales team of four cybersecurity researchers accessed the satellite's onboard system, used standard access rights to gain control of its application environment, and then exploited several vulnerabilities to introduce malicious code into the satellite's systems. This made it possible to compromise the data sent back to Earth, in particular by modifying the images captured by the satellite's camera, and to achieve other objectives such as masking selected geographic areas in the satellite imagery while concealing their activities to avoid detection by ESA. The demonstration was organized specifically for CYSAT to help assess the potential impact of a real cyberattack and the consequences for civilian systems.

ESA Maintained Spacecraft Control during Satellite Cybersecurity Exercise

Throughout the satellite cybersecurity exercise, ESA had access to the satellite's systems to retain control and ensure a return to normal operation. "Thales is grateful to ESA and the CYSAT organizers for providing this unique opportunity to demonstrate the ability of our experts to identify vulnerabilities in a satellite system. With the growing number of military as well as civil applications that are reliant on satellite systems today, the space industry needs to take cybersecurity into account at every stage in the satellite's life cycle, from initial design to systems development and maintenance. This unprecedented exercise was a chance to raise awareness of potential flaws and vulnerabilities so that they can be remediated more effectively, and to adapt current and future solutions to improve the cyber resilience of satellites and space programmes in general, including both ground segments and orbital systems," said Pierre-Yves Jolivet, VP Cyber Solutions, Thales.

In a presentation on Thursday by Thales experts and members of the ESA team, CYSAT participants learned more about the attack scenario used in this first demonstration of offensive cybersecurity techniques, tactics and procedures.

(Source: Thales news release. Images provided and from file)