DPhil student Edd Salkield wins MPLS Early Career Policy Impact Award for work on satellite security

DPhil student Edd Salkield has been awarded the MPLS Early Career Policy Impact Award for his work uncovering serious vulnerabilities in high data rate satellite communication standards used by major space agencies and industry.

Salkield identified and analysed a critical flaw in the latest generation of satellite communication standards, which are adopted by the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency (ESA), NASA and others. His findings revealed that government satellite missions could be hijacked or jammed using inexpensive, low-power hardware - posing a significant risk to both public and commercial space infrastructure.

His research won both Best Paper and Best Student Paper awards at the Security for Space Systems conference in 2024. Following this, ESA sponsored Salkield to present his findings to the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS), the international body responsible for space communication standards.

As a direct result, the CCSDS Security Working Group moved swiftly to revise its policy and technical guidance. The updates to standards 131.3-B-2 and 131.2-B-2 were ratified in November 2024, impacting more than 11 national space agencies and 140 industrial associates. ESA also made internal changes, and the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC2) updated its global cybersecurity guidance based on the findings.

Salkield's earlier work in the same area led to the discovery of a vulnerability in SpaceX's Starlink user terminals. This issue, which could have allowed attackers to disable Starlink hardware remotely, affected every Starlink customer. SpaceX implemented fixes across one million terminals following responsible disclosure.

Professor Leslie Ann Goldberg, Head of the Department of Computer Science, said:
‘The vulnerabilities Edd has discovered have immediate and significant implications for the security and resilience of critical government and commercial satellite systems. The importance of these contributions is reflected in the promptness and scale of the changes made in response by the relevant bodies, including changes to international satellite communications standards adopted by all major space agencies. As acknowledged by senior technical government and industry contacts, Edd has made significant contributions to this coordinated international response, over and above the research itself, demonstrating impressive impact for a researcher at his stage.'