Side-Channel Payload Attacks: Modeling, Demonstration, and Mitigation Strategies

With the growing dependence on hosted payloads as cost-effective solutions for space missions comes an increasing urgency to understand and mitigate their vulnerabilities in the face of sophisticated cyber threats. This work investigates the specific architectural vulnerabilities of hosted payloads, emphasizing the risk of side-channel attacks. Established methodologies like the Cyber Kill Chain and the Space Attack Research and Tactic Analysis framework are employed to model and evaluate multiple attack vectors and techniques, thereby gauging the risks posed to hosted payloads. Through this analysis, we develop and execute a representative power monitoring attack on a flatsat testbed to provide empirical insights into these vulnerabilities. We then discuss potential countermeasures, such as Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) principles like micro-segmentation, to address the potential impact of side-channel attacks on hosted payloads and aid in developing resilient, cyber-secure space systems.