Don't Look Up - Research Paper on SATCOM interception

[blantonl]

A lot of this has been discussed and done for a while in the public domain, but some of these findings are new to the hobbyist community.

🛰️ SATCOM Security

Research project homepage for SATCOM Security: papers, source code, and recent satellite communications vulnerabilities.

satcom.sysnet.ucsd.edu

 

[thebaldgeek]

Took a bit of digging, but I found they used Ku-band. The reason I looked is because I was surprised they did not mention ACARS, which is on C-Band and L-Band.
They clearly did some work, but it seems a bit 'sky-is-falling' tone to the whole thing. It's like they just woke up and saw something that many of us have known and exploited for decades.

 

[spacellamaman]

Took a bit of digging, but I found they used Ku-band. The reason I looked is because I was surprised they did not mention ACARS, which is on C-Band and L-Band.
They clearly did some work, but it seems a bit 'sky-is-falling' tone to the whole thing. It's like they just woke up and saw something that many of us have known and exploited for decades.

"“If they aren't already doing this,” jokes UCSD cryptography professor Nadia Heninger, who co-led the study, “then where are my tax dollars going?”"

From the linked WIRED article

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[prcguy]

About 25yrs ago when working in the satellite broadcast industry I got a call from a big boss to do some live testing on a few of our full Ku transponder direct to home satellite services. I was to get some RF modems and insert data channels either side of the transponder buried within the skirts of the live transponder.

After doing so and getting 100% links with the data channels including some headroom, there was zero impact on the direct to home services and without spending a lot of time searching with a spectrum analyzer and knowing what to look for you would never know the data channels where there. I don't remember the widest BW I used but I did test to a least 128kbps which will hold a lot of voice circuits or data transfer.
Since the IF frequency of our uplinks were in the 70MHz range I also padded down a surplus PRC-77 radio and fed the RF modem and did an analog FM voice link that worked fine and could not be easily detected.

I've been told the US military has done similar things sending covert stuff over occupied satellite transponders without permission from the satellite owner or customer.

 

[spacellamaman]

About 25yrs ago when working in the satellite broadcast industry I got a call from a big boss to do some live testing on a few of our full Ku transponder direct to home satellite services. I was to get some RF modems and insert data channels either side of the transponder buried within the skirts of the live transponder.

After doing so and getting 100% links with the data channels including some headroom, there was zero impact on the direct to home services and without spending a lot of time searching with a spectrum analyzer and knowing what to look for you would never know the data channels where there. I don't remember the widest BW I used but I did test to a least 128kbps which will hold a lot of voice circuits or data transfer.
Since the IF frequency of our uplinks were in the 70MHz range I also padded down a surplus PRC-77 radio and fed the RF modem and did an analog FM voice link that worked fine and could not be easily detected.

I've been told the US military has done similar things sending covert stuff over occupied satellite transponders without permission from the satellite owner or customer.

I always wonder if you aren't under-utilizing your skillset for pecuniary gain.


Or worse yet, you're not.

 

[prcguy]

I always wonder if you aren't under-utilizing your skillset for pecuniary gain.


Or worse yet, you're not.

I enjoy taking high tech stuff to the limits but not for $$.

 

[kayn1n32008]

they did not mention ACARS, which is on C-Band and L-Band.

They mentioned looking at other bands in the future. I imagine they will find ACARS eventually

 

[MUTNAV]

They did something like this for link 16, exploit the spectrum between TACAN channels.