Security analysis of the INTELSAT VI and VII command network

Author

Pickholtz, Raymond L. ; Newman, David B., Jr. ; Zhang, Ya-Qin ; Tatebayashi, Makoto

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Comput. Sci., George Washington Univ., Washington, DC, USA

Volume

11

Issue

5

fYear

1993

fDate

6/1/1993 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

663

Lastpage

672

Abstract

Some results of a study of the command security issues associated with the INTELSAT VI and VII satellites are reported. The configuration and protocols of the INTELSAT command system are briefly described. Three possible configurations for connecting the INTELSAT headquarters and the telemetry, tracking, and command (TTC) stations are distinguished, and a layered architecture is introduced to illustrate the command protocols corresponding to the ISO layers. The impact of introducing command security is then studied for the INTELSAT command network. In order to analyze the effect of errors on the operation and performance of the command network, a finite-state Markov chain is proposed for modeling the command and telemetry channels with their different error and delay characteristics. Possible risks that can threaten the INTELSAT secure command network operations, including single-event upsets, Vcc corruption, and manipulation of transmitted messages, are analyzed. The end-to-end performance of the INTELSAT command network is examined for three possible configurations-terrestrial link, single-hop satellite, and two-hop satellite

Keywords

satellite relay systems; security of data; telecommunication networks; telemetering; INTELSAT VI satellite; INTELSAT VII satellite; INTELSAT command network; ISO layers; TTC stations; command security; delay characteristics; error characteristics; finite-state Markov chain; layered architecture; network operations; single-hop satellite; telemetry; terrestrial link; tracking; two-hop satellite; Band pass filters; Envelope detectors; Frequency modulation; Frequency shift keying; Performance analysis; Protocols; Risk analysis; Satellites; Security; Telemetry;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Selected Areas in Communications, IEEE Journal on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0733-8716

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/49.223867

Filename

223867