Competition tasks hackers with compromising satellite in Low Earth Orbit
An American space launch is a very high-security affair. Systems are locked down, many of the staff hold national security clearance, and the rocket and its payload are carefully protected, for obvious reasons.
So, it was a little unusual when SpaceX launched its CRS-28 resupply mission to the International Space Station back in June, because it contained a special satellite that the US military was actually encouraging people to hack.
Named Moonlighter, the diminutive 34 x 11 x 11cm “cube” satellite was deployed into Low Earth Orbit after about a month aboard the ISS, and was the target in this year’s Hack-A-Sat competition.
Run by the US Space Force, it was essentially a game of Capture the Flag, with hackers tasked with flexing their skills to break into the satellite and discover the special code, in a race against four other competing teams.
“They started to go and ask all the different organisations within the government and military saying, ‘Hey, can you let these hackers, these top cybersecurity enthusiasts, go and hack into your systems?’, and their first response was, ‘Absolutely not. No way’,” said Captain Kevin Bernert, the Space Force’s Hack-A-Sat programme manager.
But Captain Bernert’s team persisted. In the first few years, the competition was run on virtual machines down on Earth, or actual space hardware planted firmly on the ground. This year, Moonlighter is literally in orbit above our heads, waiting to be hacked.
It promises to be a real test for hackers, as there are difficulties that we don’t need to deal with down on Earth. “With space vehicles orbiting the Earth at high speeds, you only have a certain amount of opportunities to make contact with that vehicle,” said Bernert.
Hackers trying to send a command package, for example, might not know if it was successfully executed until the next time they can make contact. Other challenges include limited bandwidth and tricky power management – hackers must be careful about how much energy their code uses on a device powered by only a solar panel. Oh, and then there’s the astrophysics and orbital mechanics that you’ll need to master to understand the target.
There are, however, aspects of the competition that will be more familiar. “It’s still essentially a computer,” said Bernert. “You still have to apply all the cybersecurity principles. Now, it’s just in a more rigorous domain.”
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