Hacking

Hackers Attacked U.S. Satellites Connected To The Internet, Report Finds

Hackers interfered with the operation of two U.S. government satellites in 2007 and 2008 obtaining access through a ground station in Norway. The usage of the attacked satellites is climate monitoring.

There aren’t any news regarding the nature of the interference but notes that the hackers “achieved all steps required to command” the Terra AM-1 satellite, but never actually exercised that control. An attacker with command privileges could “deny or degrade as well as forge or otherwise manipulate the satellite’s transmission,” or simply damage or otherwise destroy the satellite.

What can happen if the attack will target satellites with more sensitive functions (e.g. military or intelligence unit) Which are the plausible scenarios?

The hackers appear to have gained access to the satellites through the Svalbard Satellite Station in Spitsbergen, Norway, which “routinely relies on the Internet for data access and file transfers,” according to the report.

More details the following article:

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/10/hackers-attack-satellites/

I highly recommend the study of the slides of Jim Geovedi delivered at Church and Raoul ‘HITB Amsterdam in 2011. Hacking a Bird in the Sky

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Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – hack proof quantum communication satellite, hacking)

Pierluigi Paganini

Pierluigi Paganini is member of the ENISA (European Union Agency for Network and Information Security) Threat Landscape Stakeholder Group and Cyber G7 Group, he is also a Security Evangelist, Security Analyst and Freelance Writer. Editor-in-Chief at "Cyber Defense Magazine", Pierluigi is a cyber security expert with over 20 years experience in the field, he is Certified Ethical Hacker at EC Council in London. The passion for writing and a strong belief that security is founded on sharing and awareness led Pierluigi to find the security blog "Security Affairs" recently named a Top National Security Resource for US. Pierluigi is a member of the "The Hacker News" team and he is a writer for some major publications in the field such as Cyber War Zone, ICTTF, Infosec Island, Infosec Institute, The Hacker News Magazine and for many other Security magazines. Author of the Books "The Deep Dark Web" and “Digital Virtual Currency and Bitcoin”.