{"id":3130,"date":"2025-03-18T08:58:59","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T07:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spacesecurity.info\/an-analysis-of-the-thales-satellite-hacking-demo-at-cysat-2023-with-the-mitre-emb3d-threat-model\/"},"modified":"2025-03-18T09:53:39","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T08:53:39","slug":"an-analysis-of-the-thales-satellite-hacking-demo-at-cysat-2023-with-the-mitre-emb3d-threat-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spacesecurity.info\/en\/an-analysis-of-the-thales-satellite-hacking-demo-at-cysat-2023-with-the-mitre-emb3d-threat-model\/","title":{"rendered":"An analysis of the Thales satellite hacking demo at CYSAT 2023 with the MITRE EMB3D\u2122 Threat Model"},"content":{"rendered":"

Disclaimer<\/h2>\n

Please be informed that the analysis detailed in this article is entirely separate from the hacking experiment conducted by the Thales team on the satellite.<\/p>\n

Both activities are independent of each other and were carried out by different teams. There is no association between me and the team that conducted the hacking experiment.<\/p>\n

This work is conducted on a personal basis and is independent of my work at Thales. Thales is in no way involved in this work, and Thales’s responsibilities cannot be engaged under any circumstances.<\/p>\n

All slides embedded in this article are public slides presented by Thales during the CYSAT 2023 conference and available in the Youtube video which presents the Thales experiment.<\/p>\n

Purpose of the article<\/h2>\n

In this article, I show how I used the MITRE EMB3D\u2122 Threat Model<\/a> to break down the experiment of Thales satellite hacking demo at CYSAT 2023, identify key lessons learned, and record possible countermeasures.<\/p>\n

Brandon Bailey<\/strong> and Brad Roeher<\/strong> from the SPARTA team already did an analysis of the Thales satellite hacking demo (summarized in this article<\/a>, full article here<\/a>) but with the SPARTA framework<\/a>. You can enter to the SPARTA portal\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The goal with this article is to go further by using the MITRE EMB3D\u2122<\/a>, a Threat Model for embedded systems, to identify threats and possible associated countermeasures.<\/p>\n

Important Note<\/h2>\n

Before we dive in, I want to clarify an important distinction between threats and vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n

Threat modeling tools focus on identifying threats, which are potential risks that could be exploited by an attacker. Vulnerabilities, on the other hand, are specific weaknesses in a system that can be exploited.<\/p>\n

In this analysis, it turns out that the threats identified by the threat model were actual vulnerabilities, as they could be exploited by the team.<\/p>\n

Hacking demo at CYSAT 2023: what was the point again<\/h2>\n

For the third edition of CYSAT, the European event entirely dedicated to cybersecurity for the space industry, taking place on 26-27 April 2023 at Station F in Paris, the European Space Agency (ESA) set up a satellite test bench to simulate attempts to seize control of OPS-SAT, a nanosatellite operated by the agency for demonstration purposes.<\/p>\n

Thales\u2019s offensive cybersecurity team stepped up to the challenge, identifying vulnerabilities that could enable malicious actors to disrupt operation of the ESA satellite.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Figure 1: Thales Cyber Security Experiment Context (Slide courtesy The European Space Agency).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The results of the ethical satellite hacking exercise, the first of its kind in the world, will be used to tighten security for the satellite and its onboard applications, helping to improve the cyber resilience of space systems, protect sensitive data and support the long-term success of space programs.<\/p>\n

To know more about the Thales Demo in video<\/h2>\n