In the movies James Bond, Hackers, Mission Impossible and Die Hard Die Harder there are scenes of hackers accessing satellites to do nefarious activities. We are told that satellites in space can be easily hacked by "hackers".
The reality is that this situation never happens in the real world. But to make sure that doesn't happen, the United States will challenge five hacking teams to try it out during the Hack-A-Sat 4 event at DEF CON this August.
The Moonlighter cubesat satellite built by The Aerospace Corporation receiving funding from the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) and the US Space Systems Command will be the first hacked attempt in history. The five selected teams have already passed several screening tests involving eight teams. This satellite will be launched into space today.
Moonlighter has several defense systems developed specifically to prevent it from being hacked. At DEF CON the capabilities of this system and the hacker group will be tested live.
Only the top three teams will receive prizes totaling between $50,000, $30,000 and $20,000. With the world relying heavily on satellites for various communication needs, ensuring that they cannot be hacked is of utmost importance. For those who want to see if Moonlighter will be able to be hacked or not, DEF CON will take place between August 10-13, 2023 in Las Vegas.