Safeguarding Inter-Satellite Transmissions: A Viewpoint From Covertness

As inter-satellite communication (ISC) networks continue to evolve and play a critical role in space missions, ensuring the security and integrity of these networks has become a paramount concern. The unique characteristics of ISCs, such as the predictable movement of satellites and the use of high-frequency bands, push the limits of commonly used physical layer security and encryption techniques for securing communications networks. By concealing the existence of transmissions from potential adversaries, covert communications provide a robust defense against interception and unauthorized access, ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive data exchanged between satellites. This article explores the potential of covert techniques, considering the unique characteristics of ISCs, and verifies their effectiveness through numerical experiments. It also discusses future research directions in covert ISCs that need to be explored to advance this critical field and mitigate security risks. The contributions and organizations involved in this work are dedicated to enhancing the security of ISC networks and preserving the integrity of space missions.