"Identifying a Vulnerability in Critical Spacecraft Networks"

Linh Thi Xuan Phan, an associate professor in Penn Engineering's department of computer and information science, worked with a team of researchers from the University of Michigan and NASA to identify a security vulnerability in critical spacecraft networks. Time-Triggered Ethernet (TTE) has been used in aerospace, aviation, and heavy industry applications for more than a decade. In these cases, different forms of information are continuously transmitted via their computer networks, but not all require the same degree of timing precision. TTE ensures that the most important signals receive precedence, eliminating the need for separate dedicated network hardware. TTE is particularly critical for NASA, which must account for every ounce of a spacecraft's weight. However, the research team demonstrated the possibility of TTE's safety guarantees being compromised through electromagnetic interference. This attack has the potential to disrupt the timing of high-priority signals to cause critical failure on a simulated docking procedure. As the researchers have demonstrated, low-priority signals could be transmitted in such a way that the Ethernet cables carrying the message would cause enough electromagnetic interference to allow a malicious message to go through switches that would ordinarily block it. This article continues to discuss the security flaw found in critical spacecraft networks. 

The University of Pennsylvania reports "Identifying a Vulnerability in Critical Spacecraft Networks"