Cracking the Final Frontier - Comprehensive Security Analysis of Low-Earth Satellites

Explore the security vulnerabilities of low-earth orbit satellites in this comprehensive conference talk from Recon2023. Delve into the architectural components of satellites and learn the approach to reverse engineer and exploit their vulnerabilities. Witness a live demonstration of satellite exploitation using emulation techniques, showcasing how to gain full control of these critical space assets. Gain insights into the growing importance of satellites in the "New Space" era and understand the potential security risks associated with their proliferation. Discover the results of an in-depth security analysis conducted on three real-world LEO satellites, including an active European Space Agency (ESA) satellite. Learn about satellite-specific software aspects, command-and-control logic, and the process of reverse engineering satellite software. Understand how vulnerabilities in satellite code can be exploited without compromising the operator's ground station, using only software-defined radio (SDR) communication.