"Satellite Signal Jamming Reaches New Lows: Starlink and Other LEO Constellations Face a New Set of Security Risks"
Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian hackers knocked out Viasat satellite ground receivers across Europe. Elon Musk then offered access to Starlink, SpaceX's network of low Earth orbit (LEO) communications satellites. However, Musk reported shortly thereafter that Starlink was experiencing jamming attacks and software countermeasures. Regardless of their altitude or size, communications satellites transmit more power, requiring more power to jam than navigational satellites. However, compared to large geostationary satellites, LEO satellites have frequent handovers that introduce delays and more surface area for interference, according to Mark Manulis, a professor of privacy and applied cryptography at the University of the Federal Armed Forces' Cyber Defense Research Institute (CODE) in Munich, Germany. It is possible to infer from a handful of publications and open-source research how unprepared many LEO satellites are for direct attacks and which defenses future LEO satellites may require. Private companies and government agencies have been planning LEO constellations, with each numbering thousands of satellites. For example, the Department of Defense (DOD) has been designing its own LEO satellite network to supplement its more traditional geostationary constellations, and has already started issuing contracts for the constellation's construction. For research and demonstration purposes, university research groups are also launching small, standardized cube satellites (CubeSats) into LEO. This growth of satellite constellations coincides with the rise of off-the-shelf components and software-defined radio, both of which make satellites less expensive but less secure. This article continues to discuss the new security risks LEO satellites face and the need for more focus on cryptography for these satellites.