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In a groundbreaking event, hackers successfully infiltrated a US Air Force satellite in orbit during the annual “Hack-A-Sat” competition. The competition aims to test the satellites against real security threats and identify gaps in US cyber defenses that could potentially be exploited by rival states like Russia and China. The Italian team known as mHACKeroni emerged as the winners of this year’s competition, earning a prize of ,000 for exposing the vulnerabilities of the satellite.

For the first time in the competition’s history, hackers were challenged to attack a real satellite in space. The target was the US Air Force Moonlighter satellite, specifically deployed for the event. Out of over 700 applicants, five teams were selected to strategically hack into the satellite, which orbits the Earth at a speed of 5 miles per second. The objective was to establish a data link with the satellite while preventing other competing teams from doing the same.

MhACKeroni surpassed last year’s winners, the Poland-based team “Poland Can Into Space,” and claimed first place. The Polish team secured the second position, winning a prize of ,000, while the UK-US joint team, jmp fs:[rcx], took home ,000.

Though the competition had a playful atmosphere, it underlines the seriousness of the growing security threat posed by satellite hacking. Such breaches can have significant geopolitical consequences. An example of this occurred in 2022 when Russia targeted the American satellite company Viasat just before deploying its troops in Ukraine. The attack led to a considerable loss of communication in the initial days of the invasion.

Classified documents leaked earlier this year revealed that China is also developing technologies to assert control over enemy satellites as part of its “war-fighting domain.” This emphasizes the need to address the vulnerabilities of satellite systems and strengthen cyber defenses in order to safeguard national security interests.

The annual “Hack-A-Sat” competition serves as a proactive measure to identify and address these security risks before they can be exploited by malicious actors.

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