Space Informatics Cybersecurity

Space Informatics Cybersecurity

This seminar covers different topics related to space information security. Students will learn the soft-skill of explaining technical topics both verbally through presentations and via hands-on learning through practical exercises.

Organization

In this seminar, you will learn about different topics related to space informatics security. The goal is to practice explaining technical material clearly to other students and to make complex security topics understandable through practical exercises.
The seminar is structured around the following activities:

• You prepare a specific topic on space informatics security in groups of two
• You give a presentation that is supported by academic literature, technical reports, standards, real-world incidents, or practical demonstrations (where appropriate)
• You create practical exercises that help explain the technical aspects of your topic
• You prepare a write-up of your exercise so that others can understand and reproduce it

Topics

Students will choose one topic related to the security of space systems. Each topic should be approached from both a technical and a security perspective and should include a practical component where appropriate.

Possible seminar topics include:

• Satellite Tracking, Orbital Mechanics, and Security
  Satellite orbits, TLEs, pass prediction, contact windows, ground-station geometry, and how orbital information can be used by an adversary.

• Satellite and Mission OSINT
  Publicly available information about satellites, launches, orbital parameters, communication frequencies, ground infrastructure, and mission characteristics.

• Satellite RF Communication Security
  Uplinks and downlinks, modulation, link budgets, Doppler effects, signal reception, eavesdropping, interference, and the security properties of satellite radio links.

• Jamming and Spoofing of Satellite Communications
  Techniques for disrupting or manipulating satellite communication links and possible detection and mitigation mechanisms.

• Software-Defined Radio for Satellite Security
  The use of SDRs and tools such as GNU Radio for receiving, analyzing, demodulating, and decoding satellite signals.

• Error Correction, Coding, and Framing in Satellite Links
  Reed-Solomon codes, convolutional codes, Viterbi decoding, synchronization, randomization, and how the coding layer affects security analysis.

• CCSDS Space Communication Protocols
  CCSDS Space Packets, telemetry and telecommand protocols, AOS, PUS, CFDP, and the structure of real spacecraft communication stacks.

• Security of Space Communication Protocols
  Authentication, encryption, replay protection, protocol weaknesses, and standards such as CCSDS Space Data Link Security (SDLS).

• Mission Control and Ground Station Security
  Mission-control architectures, telemetry and telecommand processing, mission databases, XTCE, and platforms such as OpenC3/COSMOS or YAMCS.

• Satellite Flight Software Security
  Flight-software architectures and frameworks such as NASA cFS and F´, including command handling, software components, isolation, and possible attack paths.

• Real-Time Operating Systems and Spacecraft Software Exploitation
  RTOS platforms and processor architectures used in spacecraft, such as RTEMS, SPARC/LEON, RISC-V, and ARM, and the security implications of memory-corruption vulnerabilities.

• GNSS Security in Space Systems
  GNSS receivers, positioning and timing, GNSS spoofing and jamming, receiver manipulation, and possible countermeasures.

• Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) Security
  Star trackers, sun sensors, reaction wheels, attitude estimation, and attacks that manipulate spacecraft sensor inputs or pointing.

• Cryptography in Space Systems
  Encryption, authentication, key management, constrained cryptographic implementations, and common implementation failures in spacecraft communication systems.

• Ground-Segment and IT Security
  Web applications, operator workstations, network services, remote access, command injection, credential/session security, and attacks that pivot from conventional IT infrastructure toward mission systems.

• Spacecraft Hardware and Internal Bus Security
  Internal spacecraft components and buses such as I2C, SPI, CAN, SpaceWire, and CubeSat Space Protocol, including attacks between spacecraft subsystems.

• FPGA and Embedded Hardware Security in Spacecraft
  FPGA bitstreams, soft-core processors, JTAG/UART interfaces, firmware integrity, fault injection, and hardware-level attack surfaces.

• Supply-Chain Security and COTS Components in Space Systems
  Security risks introduced by commercial off-the-shelf radios, processors, software libraries, firmware, and other third-party spacecraft components.

The final set of available topics and their exact scope will be announced during the seminar. Related topics may be proposed by students after discussion with the instructors.

Presentation

Each group will prepare and give a presentation on a chosen topic in space informatics security. The presentation should introduce the topic, explain the relevant technical background, discuss security challenges, and make the material understandable to the other students.

Practical Exercise

Each group will create practical technical exercises related to their topic. These exercises should help other students understand the technical aspects of the presentation through hands-on learning.
The exercises should be clearly connected to the presentation topic and should be designed so that other students can follow and complete them.

Exercise Write-up

Each group will submit a write-up for their practical exercise. The write-up should explain the exercise's goal, the required setup, the steps to complete it, and the expected outcome or solution.

Important Dates

• Kick-off meeting and topic assignments: TBA
• Exercise submission: TBA
• Exercise write-up submission: TBA

Deliverables

• Presentation on the topic: (50%)
• Practical technical exercises: (25%)
• Write-up of your exercise (25%)