The Birdman: Hacking Cospas-Sarsat Satellites
summary
Built portable receivers and transmitters and using GNU Radio plus SDR hardware (Airspy, HackRF, USRP, ProtoSDR), the research demonstrates COSPAS‑SARSAT downlinks from ~67 satellites can be eavesdropped, decoded and spoofed; a proof-of-concept tool named Hacksaw generates false distress bursts and floods the 406 MHz uplink producing many fake alerts that reach ground MCCs, exploiting no message authentication and weak link budgets. Multiple serious protocol and control vulnerabilities are shown, attacks work in practice, and full exploit details are withheld for responsible disclosure.
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chapters (11)
- 0:00Introduction to satellite work
- 1:49Tools for satellite reception
- 3:29Satellite tracking systems
- 6:48Identifying satellite signals
- 11:00The Cospas-Sarsat system
- 13:26Rescue beacons and protocols
- 18:13Decoding distress messages
- 25:50Security and spoofing risks
- 29:42Interference and vulnerabilities
- 33:55Addressing system exploitation
- 37:43Q&A and concluding remarks
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