DEF CON 29 Aerospace Village - James Pavur - Threat Modeling for Space Hitchhikers

When you strap someone else’s satellite to your rocket, how much should you trust them? In this talk, we’ll explore threats relating to launch integration and the role of secondary payloads, such as CubeSats, in modern missions. The briefing combines strategic and policy perspectives with dynamic simulations exploring space-to-space radio attacks from compromise or malicious payloads. While it includes technical components, it assumes no prior experience with radio communications or aerospace.