Introduction:

Satellite high-speed internet service is a technology for getting high-speed internet connection by using
satellite dish connected to the orbiting system. Satellite internet service is one of always on service, this
means one can access internet without affecting on the telephone lines as well.

(Book : Fundamentals of Computer Networks by Alireza Salehi Nejad)

Satellite internet works in the same manner as satellite TV. The concept of geosynchronous orbiting of
satellites is central to the operation of satellite internet. Simply, this means that the satellite must be
placed in an orbit above the equator at a distance of about 22,300 miles. At this location, the satellite
will orbit at the same pace as the earth rotates. This enables your home satellite dish to constantly
remain in contact with the orbiting satellite. This is also why (if you live in the northern hemisphere),
you must have an unobstructed southward view of the sky from where you place your home satellite
dish.

Satellite Internet generally relies on three primary components: a satellite in geostationary orbit
(sometimes referred to as a geosynchronous Earth orbit, or GEO), a number of ground stations known as
gateways that relay Internet data to and from the satellite via radio waves (microwave), and a VSAT
(very-small-aperture terminal) dish antenna with a transceiver, located at the subscriber's premises.
Other components of a satellite Internet system include a modem at the user end which links the user's
network with the transceiver, and a centralized network operations center (NOC) for monitoring the
entire system. Working in concert with a broadband gateway, the satellite operates a Star network
topology where all network communication passes through the network's hub processor, which is at the
center of the star. With this configuration, the number of remote VSATs that can be connected to the
hub is virtually limitless.

Satellite internet in the world

A handful of companies offer high-bandwidth Internet access via GEO satellite links. Each subscriber
uses a small satellite dish antenna and receiver to exchange signals with the service providers satellite
network. Subscribers can choose one of two types of satellite Internet access service: dial return or
satellite return. In a dial return arrangement, a subscriber receives data from the Internet via a satellite
downlink transmission, but sends data to the satellite via an analog modem (dial-up) connection. With
dial return, service providers advertise downstream (or downlink) throughputs of 400500 Kbps, though
in practice, they may be as high as 1 Mbps. However, upstream (or uplink) throughputs are practically
limited to 53 Kbps and are usually lower. Therefore, dial return satellite Internet access is an
asymmetrical technology. In a satellite return arrangement, a subscriber sends and receives data to and
from the Internet using a satellite uplink and downlink. This is a symmetrical technology, in which both
upstream and downstream throughputs are advertised to reach 400500 Kbps. In reality, throughputs
are often higher.

To establish a satellite Internet connection, each subscriber must have a dish antenna, which is
approximately two feet high by three feet wide, installed in a fixed position. In North America, these
dish antennas are pointed toward the southern hemisphere (because the geosynchronous satellites
travel over the equator). The dish antennas receiver is connected, via cable, to a modem. This modem
uses either a PCI or USB interface to connect with the subscribers computer. In a dial return system, an
analog modem is also connected to the subscribers computer to handle upstream communications.

Costs for popular Internet access services in the United States are approximately $200 for installation
(which must be performed by a professional) plus a monthly service fee of $20 to $30.

(Network+ Guide to Networks by Tamara Dean)

Top ranking companies in the world providing satellite internet are HughesNet, WildBlue, Exede,
EarthLink, dishNET. This business has grown to billions of dollars.

Satellite internet in Pakistan

The Internet in Pakistan has been available since the early 1990s. Information and communications
technology (ICT) is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. In 2001 just 1.3% of the
population used the Internet. By 2006 this figure had grown to 6.5% and in 2012 to 10.0%. The
percentage on broad band internet users in Pakistan is now 18.8% which means now more than 35
Million people surf internet. The percentage of total internet users may be significant higher.

(https://www.techjuice.pk/3g4g-users-in-pakistan-hit-32-million-mark/)

Loopholes in satellite internet

1. Hackers can intercept Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) signals to get free high-speed Internet and
they can use satellite signals anonymously for using Internet connection, gaining access to
private networks and even intercept satellite Internet users requests for web pages and replace
 them with spoofed sites. For example, a project called dvbsnoop is a DVB (digital video
broadcasting) and MPEG stream analyzer that lets the user access raw data from DVB card.
2. According to some experts, it is also possible that one can impersonate web sites that a satellite
user is attempting to visit by intercepting a Domain Name System (DNS) request and sending
back an answer faster than the ISP. This allows him to replace a web site that a user navigates to
directly with a site of his choosing, creating the potential for undetectable cybercrime sites that
steal passwords or installs malicious software.
3. It is also possible that hackers are able to hijack signals using GRE or TCP protocols that
enterprises use to communicate between PCs and servers or between offices, using the
connections to gain access to a corporation or government agencys local area network.

(http://decryptedmatrix.com/how-to-hack-satellite-internet-surf-anonymously/)

4. Researchers have warned that terminals that allow Internet access for remote networks by
sending data to satellites may be a soft target for attackers. The vulnerability in question
centers around very small aperture terminals or VSATs which enable data to be relayed from a
remote system to a centralized network, are basically like any other server connected to the
Internet with IP addresses, and many have weak factory default passwords. VSATs are most
commonly used to transmit narrowband data (point of sale transactions such as credit card,
polling or RFID data; or SCADA), or broadband data (for the provision of satellite Internet access
to remote locations, VoIP or video). They are also widely spread in industrial sector, such as
energy, oil and gas, where the whole infrastructure is based on distributed environments
located in different regions, cities or sometimes continents. According to statistics, there are
2,931,534 active VSAT terminals in the world now, with the majority installed in the US.
(https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/latest-security-news/remote-network-satellite-
links-vulnerable-attacks/)

In addition to above issues, following security lapse are possible in satellite internet communication
infrastructures.

I. Scanning/attacking
II. Jamming
III. Transponder spoofing/direct commanding.
IV. Security Key management issues
V. Satellite based hybrid networks security implementation issues
VI. Satellite based broadband multicast networks security implementation issues
VII. TCP based security implementation issues in Satellite Networks infrastructure.
VIII. VPN Implementation based Security issues in Satellite communication infrastructure.
IX. Miscellaneous command and infrastructure security issues.
(A Survey Paper on Security Issues in Satellite Communication Network infrastructure
Syed Muhammad et. al)
Solution to loopholes : some approaches towards vulnerabilities
I. Since, a hacker can intercept Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) signals to get free high-speed
Internet. What makes such attacks possible is that DVB signals are usually left unencrypted. This
lack of simple security stems from the logistical and legal complications of scrambling the signal,
which might make it harder to share data among companies or agencies and could run into red
tape surrounding international use of cryptography. Each [country] can have its own law for
cryptography. Its easier not to have encryption at the DVB layer. This easiness can create a
great vulnerability and solution is to secure the communication with end to end encryption.
(http://decryptedmatrix.com/how-to-hack-satellite-internet-surf-anonymously/)

II. Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) must provide authentication, access control, integrity,
confidentiality and key management. It is reported that IPSec being considered as IETF standard
End to End secure tunneling based data transfer protocol, so it is also used for satellite
communication networks.
III. In multicast satellite communication due to broadcast nature of satellite links appropriate
addressing and security measures are essential to provide service to only authorized users. A
highly optimized and efficient key generation and update mechanism is a key for the Multicast
applications which are dynamic in nature.
IV. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) generally considered well for end-to end connections like
wired Internet services. However, performance issues over satellite links comes due to multiple
factors, among those propagation delay and channel noise effects are most compelling one. TCP
due to its retransmission feature for reliability; is more vulnerable to high BER.TCP has no
idea of whether a loss over the link caused by congestion over the link (buffer-overflow)
or by corruption (noise, jamming). There are many Enhanced TCP approaches to increase its
performance especially over the satellite links, like TCP-Scalable, TCPBOC, TCP-High speed, or
TCP-Hybla. These approaches help tackle the loop holes in satellite base internet and these are
open ground for the researchers.
(A Survey Paper on Security Issues in Satellite Communication Network infrastructure
Syed Muhammad et. al)

CONCLUSION
Satellite Communication is becoming more and more popular in modern day communication systems.
From Commercial usage to the Military intelligence purposes, satellite based internet communication
network is becoming the ultimate future for cyber security engineering. But with the advancements
in electronics and communication technologies the limitations of this system like long delays, link and
system sensitivity towards the atmospheric effects, and larger links; are becoming more vulnerable for
the hacking and rogue communication over the legitimate links. Hence, over time, number of security
issues in satellite communication networks has arisen, so these issues need more detail studies in the
particular area.