DIY Friday: Military Satellite Hacking
Relax. We are not designing instructions on how to take-down U.S. military satellites. But the U.S. Space Countermeasures Hands On Program (Space CHOP, for short) is trying to do just that — using store bought, DIY gear to disrupt or take-down U.S. military satellites. The goal: if we can discover our own vulnerabilities first, we can protect ourselves from the real enemies. Popular Mechanics chronicles Space CHOP’s activities:
Space CHOP was formed in 1999, and one of its earliest experiments used a UHF generator and a small amplifier purchased from an electronics store. The team pieced together an antenna out of copper wire, PVC piping and other easily obtained materials. (The Air Force won’t elaborate on Space CHOP hardware or targets.) By aiming the antenna at the sky and turning on just a few milliwatts of power, the team showed it could block signals from a military communications satellite.
"We demonstrated that a few unsophisticated guys with a few thousand dollars’ worth of equipment could interfere with a seriously sophisticated satellite system," says John Holbrook, Space CHOP’s program manager. "If we had turned on full power, we would’ve knocked [the system] out."
And it is not just DIY, technological experimentation. This team uses good, old-fashioned intelligence and face-to-face investigating:
More often than not, the Space CHOP team doesn’t need any equipment to uncover a vulnerability. They scour the Internet for potentially damaging information. They case out Air Force bases. Or, posing as graduate students, they pump defense contractors and military officers for information until they’ve figured out a way to take down a satellite or its link on the ground.
As the author of this Popular Mechanics article, Noah Shachtman, notes on his blog, this is not a fantasy threat. From the AP:
The Bush administration warned Wednesday against threats by terrorist groups and other nations against U.S. commercial and military satellites, and discounted the need for a treaty aimed at preventing an arms race in space.
Undersecretary of State Robert G. Joseph also reasserted U.S. policy that it has a right to use force against hostile nations or terror groups that might try to attack American satellites or ground installations that support space programs. President Bush adopted a new U.S. space policy earlier this year.
"We reserve the right to defend ourselves against hostile attacks and interference with our space assets," Joseph said in prepared remarks to the George C. Marshall Institute.
Joseph, the senior arms control official at the State Department, said nations cannot all be counted on to use space purely for peaceful purposes.
"A number of countries are exploring and acquiring capabilities to counter, attack, and defeat U.S. space systems," Joseph said
He also said terrorists "understand our vulnerabilities and have targeted our economy in the past, as they did on 9/11." He said terrorists and enemy states might view the U.S. space program as "a highly lucrative target," while sophisticated technologies could improve their ability to interfere with U.S. space systems and services.
Not a member of Space CHOP but still want to hack satellites? Try grabbing free satellite signals.
