| | | | Steely Newsletter Issue #009 |
| Read all about European satellite companies teaming up to compete with Starlink, a dangerous Russian hacker group being linked to Russian military, a satellite cybersecurity bill being reintroduced to the Senate and so much more! |
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| | | ARS Technica | Eric Berger | 05-03-2023 A group of European satellite companies are joining forces to create a new satellite system that would rival Elon Musk's Starlink network. This group aims to provide faster, more reliable, and more secure internet connectivity to remote regions, ships, and aircraft, as well as improving the reliability of emergency services. The new system will be fully operational by the end of the decade and will consist of several hundred satellites in low Earth orbit, offering significantly increased coverage and reduced latency. |
| Ohio State News | Tatyana Woodall | 05-05-2023 Researchers from The Ohio State University have developed an algorithm that could potentially make satellite signals function like GPS. The algorithm can measure the time it takes for a signal to travel from a satellite to a receiver on Earth. By measuring the time difference between signals from multiple satellites, the algorithm can then calculate the location of the receiver on Earth. The researchers believe that this technology could have numerous practical applications, such as improving navigation for autonomous vehicles, aircraft, and drones. Additionally, the technology could be used in disaster response situations, where GPS signals may not be available. |
| CNBC | Michael Sheetz | 05-04-2023 Viasat's latest project is the Viasat-3 satellite, which will offer high-speed internet to consumers across the world, especially in areas where fiber-optic networks are not feasible. The Viasat-3 satellite network will cover North America, Central America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region, providing internet services to underserved communities in remote locations. Viasat-3 will be able to offer internet speeds of up to one gigabit per second, which is equivalent to the speed of fiber-optic networks. Furthermore, the Viasat-3 satellite network is expected to have superior flexibility, allowing it to adjust to changes in demand and traffic patterns. |
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| 🛡️Satellite Cybersecurity News |
| Via Satellite | Rachel Jewett | 05-03-2023 On May 3, 2023, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Marco Rubio reintroduced legislation on commercial satellite cybersecurity. The bill aims to improve the cybersecurity of commercial satellites by requiring satellite operators to comply with best practices for cybersecurity risk management. The legislation comes in response to growing concerns about the vulnerability of commercial satellites to cyberattacks, which could have serious national security implications. The bill seeks to address these concerns by establishing a framework for cybersecurity risk management that is based on industry best practices. |
| Forbes | Eric Tegler | 04-30-2023 The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has launched the NTS-3 (Navigation Technology Satellite 3) to experiment with global positioning systems (GPS) and improve positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) capabilities. The NTS-3 is designed to test new GPS technologies, including an atomic clock that's three times more accurate than existing GPS clocks, which should improve the accuracy of PNT. However, the satellite doesn't solve America's PNT problem, which is the potential for GPS signals to be jammed, disrupted, or spoofed. |
| The Record | Jonathan Greig | 04-18-2023 The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Cisco have issued advisories highlighting the activities of APT28, a hacking group believed to be associated with the Russian military. The group is believed to have targeted a small number of routers in Europe and the US, as well as about 250 Ukrainian victims, in attacks throughout 2021. APT28 reportedly exploited Simple Network Management protocol vulnerabilities, which allowed them to gain access to router information. The group has been connected to cyberattacks on the German parliament in 2015 and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in April 2018. |
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| | | Via Satellite | Alishia Sims | 04-14-2023 Starlink's LEO satellite internet service has gained popularity in the maritime industry. While connectivity is becoming more important, Starlink has turned to resellers, recognising that commercial and industrial users are not going to install satellite communications themselves. Resellers have numerous benefits, including the ability to sell Starlink at a premium, cross-sell other services, and offer tailored support. Compared to typical VSAT service level agreement deals, customers purchase data capacity instead of the speed of connectivity. The service is priced at $5,000 per month for 5TB data with a maximum speed of 350 Mbps. However, users must opt-in to increase their data allowance when they reach their data cap, and Starlink does not offer a CIR. |
| MarketWatch | 04-18-2023 The Enterprise Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) market will experience dynamic growth from 2023-2030, according to a new report. The report analyzes the market's types and applications, providing insights into growth factors and competition. The report aims to aid readers in creating business growth strategies, evaluating the competitive landscape, and making informed decisions. |
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| 🏛️US Government Satellite News |
| Defense News | Courtney Albon | 05-03-2023 The US Space Force has selected teams led by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to develop competing ground-control systems for its new fleet of secure communication satellites. Both teams have been awarded $30m to develop designs for the Ground Resilient Integration and Framework for Operational Nuclear Command, Control and Communication (GRIFFON) system, which will operate the future fleet of Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications spacecraft. GRIFFON is designed to withstand a nuclear attack. The teams will develop software applications that integrate into a “cyber-resilient architecture” and will work closely with the operators who will use the capability to deliver updates at a rapid pace. |
| Via Satellite | Rachel Jewett | 05-04-2023 Raytheon Technologies has selected CesiumAstro to provide phased array communications payloads for its seven-vehicle missile tracking satellite constellation under the Space Development Agency's (SDA) Tranche 1 Tracking Layer contract. CesiumAstro will supply its Vireo active electronically scanned array (AESA) radio frequency (RF) communications payload, which is the first Ka-band, multi-beam communications system in the SDA's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). The array is software-defined and designed to provide resilient, low-latency, high-volume data transport to simultaneous users. |
| C4ISRNET | Courtney Albon | 04-26-2023 The US Space Force is working on plans to create a space-based "outernet" to enable more efficient communication between military satellites and networks. This is part of a broader design effort looking at future satellite communication systems and sensors that will be required by the military. The outernet would function as an internet in space, ensuring sensors or satellites don't have to worry about how their data is sent to the intended destination. The outernet would combine traditional SATCOM networks and commercial satellites to guarantee data delivery in real-time. |
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