Direct Attack to Space Communication Links: Record and replay TC/TM or mission specific packets

Threat actors can record and replay TC/TM packets to deceive the spacecraft or the ground station, causing an unexpected behavior or an erroneous evaluation of the spacecraft status. Threat actors can gain access to the data exchanged in a payload channel or even spoof TC. Usually the TM replay doesn't cause an impact, unless timing information are transmitted.

ID: ATAGS-T1023.001
Sub-technique of:  ATAGS-T1023
Tactic: Initial Access
Targeted Components: Satellite Communications
Responsibility: Provider
Created: 18 April 2026
Last Modified: 18 April 2026

Mitigations

This type of attack technique cannot be easily mitigated with preventive controls since it is based on the abuse of system features.