LAS VEGAS – The Department of the Air Force has made history with a successful and first-of-its-kind capture-the-flag hacking competition on an operational satellite. Hack-A-Sat 4 took place Aug. 11-12 in the Aerospace Village at the annual hacking conference DEF CON 31 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In its fourth year, Hack-A-Sat is an opportunity for a global community of cyber security researchers to hack and learn in an open and collaborative online environment with the goal of improving the security and resilience of space systems. Each year Hack-A-Sat has advanced the technology supporting the game from FlatSat hardware to a Digital Twin software simulation to this year’s on-orbit 3U CubeSat called Moonlighter.
Designed and built by The Aerospace Corporation in partnership with Space Systems Command (SSC), Moonlighter was created specifically for cyber exercises to advance security researcher knowledge and skills in securing space systems. Moonlighter launched June 5 to the International Space Station as part of the SpX-28 commercial resupply mission. It was deployed into low Earth orbit on July 6 and was commissioned just in time for its first mission to host the Hack-A-Sat 4 final event.
“We are so proud of the entire Hack-A-Sat effort and particularly the development of Moonlighter as the first and only hacking sandbox in space,” said Col. Neal Roach, director of Engineering and Integration for Space Domain Awareness and Combat Power, SSC. “Hack-A-Sat has raised public awareness on the importance of space cybersecurity and has helped to strengthen the industry, security and government partnership that we need to build more resilient space systems that will keep our nation and our world secure.”
The Hack-A-Sat 4 final event featured five of the world’s most accomplished capture-the-flag cyber security research teams competing through two ground-based challenges and seven on-orbit challenges testing their space-relevant skills including spacecraft operations, radio frequency communications and reverse engineering.
The top three teams earned cash prizes as follows:
$50,000 1st place: mHACKeroni
$30,000 2nd place: Poland Can Into Space
$20,000 3rd place: jmp fs:[rcx]
The final five teams were the top finishers out of more than 700 teams competing in the virtual Hack-A-Sat 4 qualification round in April.
“Playing Hack-A-Sat, for me, is like challenging myself to understand better a problem space that is amazingly complex and extremely exciting,” said a member of the Italian team mHACKeroni who won the finals. “Doing that for security, which I am extremely excited about, is like a dream come true.”
During the final event weekend, DEF CON 31 attendees had the opportunity to learn about the Hack-A-Sat program, including its purpose, history, and technology. They also received game updates and analysis at the dedicated Hack-A-Sat talks on the Aerospace Village stage. DEF CON attendees were able to watch the teams compete and track the scoring and satellite orbit in the Hack-A-Sat contest area. Those who didn’t attend DEF CON 31 followed the competition on X (formerly Twitter) and hackasat.com where they could check the scoreboard, satellite orbit, and watch the recorded Hack-A-Sat talks. To watch the Hack-A-Sat 4 final event talks and for more information about Hack-A-Sat, visit www.hackasat.com.
About the Organizers
Space Systems Command is the U.S. Space Force’s field command responsible for acquiring and delivering resilient war fighting capabilities to protect our nation’s strategic advantage in and from space. SSC manages a $15 billion space acquisition budget for the Department of Defense and works in partnership with joint forces, industry, government agencies, academic, and allied organizations to accelerate innovation and outpace emerging threats. Our actions today are making the world a better space for tomorrow.
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 11,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit: www.afresearchlab.com.