Radio frequency attacks on open-source ground station

Young Eun Kwon; Youngjoon Kim; Ji Hyuk Jung; Hyeongjun Choi; Ji Won Yoon

doi:10.23386/joss.2025.2.2.002

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Research Article

Radio frequency attacks on open-source ground station

31 December 2025. pp. 14-19

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Abstract

The space industry has experienced exponential growth, driven by private sector initiatives and the democratization of space technology. This has resulted in an increase in satellite launches and the adoption of open-source technologies for ground stations. Projects like SatNOGS and TinyGS have facilitated the accessibility of satellite communication for individuals and institutions, reducing the technical barriers to entry. However, this open-source approach introduces considerable cybersecurity vulnerabilities, particularly in the RF communication layer, which has not been sufficiently investigated in existing research. In this paper, we evaluate the security of open-source ground stations through the design and testing of realistic attack scenarios, with a particular focus on jamming and replay attacks. We generated interference signals with the purpose of disrupting satellite communication. Additionally, satellite signals were captured and replayed in order to simulate unauthorized access or communication disruption. Experiments on the TinyGS platform demonstrated that these attacks can be executed with minimal effort. It is therefore evident that security strategies need to be developed and implemented.

Keywords

Denial of service

Ground station

Jamming

Replay attack

RF attacks

Space security

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Information

Publisher :Korean Academy of Space Security
Publisher(Ko) :한국우주안보학회
Journal Title :JOURNAL OF SPACE SECURITY
Journal Title(Ko) :한국우주안보학회지
Volume : 2
No :2
Pages :14-19
Received Date : 2025-03-04
Revised Date : 2025-08-19
Accepted Date : 2025-11-26
DOI :https://doi.org/10.23386/joss.2025.2.2.002

JOURNAL OF SPACE SECURITY ISSN:3058-5759(Print) 한국우주안보학회지

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