Conference Description
Key Takeaways
- Fifth annual workshop dedicated to cybersecurity challenges in space and satellite systems, co-located with NDSS Symposium 2027.
- Covers technical topics including GNSS attack and defense, post-quantum cryptography for space, inter-satellite link security, and in-orbit intrusion detection.
- Addresses vulnerabilities across the full satellite ecosystem: small satellites, CubeSats, legacy systems, ground segments, and user terminals.
- Designed for security researchers, satellite engineers, aerospace professionals, defense agencies, and policy makers.
- Academic workshop format featuring paper presentations and interdisciplinary discussion.
About SpaceSec 2027
SpaceSec 2027 is the 5th Workshop on the Security of Space and Satellite Systems. The event is co-located with the NDSS Symposium, positioning it within one of the established venues for network and distributed systems security research. The workshop format emphasizes paper presentations and structured discussion rather than commercial exhibition.
The workshop responds to the growing role of satellite and space-based systems as critical infrastructure supporting global communications, navigation, Earth observation, and IoT connectivity. The expansion of mega-constellations such as Starlink and OneWeb has increased both the scale and the attack surface of space-based networks, making their security a more urgent concern for researchers and operators.
Technical Focus Areas
The workshop covers a broad range of technical and operational security topics specific to space systems. Satellite hardware security includes small satellites, CubeSats, and legacy systems, while ground and user segment vulnerabilities address the terrestrial components of satellite networks.
Communications security topics include satellite link jamming and spoofing, inter-satellite link protection, and routing and communication protocol security. GNSS attack and defense techniques are covered alongside launch vehicle security considerations.
The program also addresses emerging approaches such as post-quantum cryptography for space, optical cryptography, and machine learning applications in security. Reverse engineering, side-channel attacks, and in-orbit intrusion detection represent the offensive and defensive research dimensions. Supporting topics include key management, privacy and anonymity in satellite networks, supply chain security, and forensics.
Research and Policy Context
A central theme of the workshop is the persistence of known vulnerabilities in satellite systems despite years of awareness within the security community. The event encourages interdisciplinary research that accounts for the unique constraints of the space environment, including limited computational resources, communication latency, and the difficulty of patching deployed systems.
Sessions also explore economics and game theory as they apply to space security, along with red and blue teaming methodologies for testing satellite system defenses.
Who Should Attend
SpaceSec 2027 is designed for cybersecurity researchers and engineers working on space and satellite systems, academic and industry professionals in aerospace, government and defense agency personnel, and organizations that depend on satellite infrastructure. Relevant roles include security researchers, satellite engineers, cybersecurity analysts, system architects, and policy makers involved in space security governance.