The adversary transmits GNSS-like signals (or manipulates crosslink-distributed time/ephemeris) so the spacecraft’s navigation solution reflects attacker-chosen states. With believable code phases, Doppler, and navigation messages, the victim can be pulled to a false position/velocity/time, causing downstream functions, attitude pointing limits, station visibility prediction, eclipse timing, antenna pointing, and anti-replay windows, to misbehave. Even when GNSS is not the primary navigation source, spoofed PNT can bias timekeeping or seed filters that fuse multiple sensors, leading to mis-scheduling and errant control. The defining feature is externally provided navigation/time that passes validity checks yet encodes a crafted trajectory or epoch.
| ID | Name | Tiering | Description | NIST Rev5 | ISO 27001 | Onboard SV | Ground | |
| CM0083 | Antenna Nulling and Adaptive Filtering | Antenna nulling and adaptive filtering are complementary electronic protection techniques that reduce the effects of jamming on spacecraft communication and sensing links while preserving access to legitimate signals. Antenna nulling dynamically adjusts the receive antenna pattern to reduce sensitivity in the estimated direction of arrival of a jammer. For terrestrial interference, the affected geographic region depends on the spacecraft’s position and attitude, antenna geometry, and uncertainty in the jammer’s location. Nulling is most effective against a limited number of discrete, detectable interference sources, but it may also attenuate legitimate signals arriving from the same or a nearby direction. Adaptive filtering suppresses interference based on its spectral or signal characteristics, such as by placing adaptive notches around narrowband or slowly varying interference. It can preserve operation within unaffected portions of the received bandwidth but may also remove or distort legitimate signal energy that overlaps the rejected frequencies. Its effectiveness decreases against wideband, rapidly changing, or multiple simultaneous jammers when too little usable bandwidth remains to support mission requirements. Used together, antenna nulling and adaptive filtering can address a broader range of jamming conditions than either technique alone. Both techniques depend on the interference remaining within the operating range of the antenna and receiver chain. If a jammer saturates or damages the low-noise amplifier, analog front end, or analog-to-digital converter, downstream digital processing may be unable to recover the legitimate signal. Receiver dynamic range and front-end protection must therefore be incorporated into the overall electronic protection design. | SC-40 SI-4(14) | None | ||||
| CM0031 | Authentication | All command-bearing sessions, frames, or messages involving spacecraft command links, crosslinks, or relay services shall provide cryptographic authentication of the command origin and integrity verification before commands are accepted. Mutual or bidirectional authentication shall be required where both endpoints must authenticate one another and the link and protocol architecture support that exchange. Acquisition requirements should mandate cryptographically based, bidirectional authentication for all command sessions across external links, including ground-to-spacecraft uplinks, spacecraft-to-spacecraft crosslinks, and any relay or intermediary ground station connections, with authentication required aBidirectional authentication enables both communicating entities to verify each other’s identity and helps prevent impersonation. Authentication establishes identity but does not by itself authorize a command, protect mission-data confidentiality, or prevent session hijacking. Command acceptance must also enforce authorization, and authenticated sessions or security associations must maintain integrity and replay resistance so that subsequent traffic remains bound to the authenticated entities. Beyond external links, authentication is strongly recommended for spacecraft internal bus communications and onboard inter-component connections, as an adversary with access to internal interfaces, whether through a compromised component or a physical access event, should face the same authentication barrier as an external adversary attempting to inject commands from outside the spacecraft. | AC-14 AC-17 AC-17(10) AC-17(2) AC-18 AC-18(1) IA-2 IA-3(1) IA-4 IA-4(9) IA-7 IA-9 PL-8 PL-8(1) SA-3 SA-4(5) SA-8 SA-8(15) SA-8(9) SC-16 SC-16(1) SC-16(2) SC-32(1) SC-7(11) SC-8(1) SI-14(3) SI-7(6) | A.5.14 A.6.7 A.8.1 A.5.14 A.8.1 A.8.20 A.5.16 A.5.16 A.5.8 A.5.2 A.5.8 A.8.25 A.8.31 A.8.27 A.8.28 A.5.33 | ||||
| CM0032 | On-board Intrusion Detection & Prevention | An on-board intrusion detection and prevention system (IDS/IPS) monitors mission-critical spacecraft components and systems, generates and stores audit records, and supports mission-approved responses to detected threats. Depending on the mission architecture, threat, and availability of ground support, responses may be autonomous, ground-directed, or a combination of both. The system should address both known attack patterns and previously unseen anomalous behavior through complementary signature-based and behavior- or anomaly-based detection methods. Machine learning or adaptive technologies may be used when their performance, resource consumption, and failure behavior have been validated for the mission environment. Detection and response coverage should address applicable adversary activities across the attack lifecycle, including initial access, execution, persistence, defense evasion, and exfiltration. The on-board IDS/IPS must be integrated with the spacecraft's traditional fault management system to provide a unified approach to anomaly response, ensuring that cyber-triggered responses are compatible with fault management logic and do not produce unintended effects or fratricide against the spacecraft's own systems; countermeasures that are incompatible with fault management are considered unsafe and must not be executed autonomously. The response hierarchy must prioritize vehicle safety and continued mission operations. Advanced containment or deception responses may be considered when they can be executed without unacceptable mission risk. The system should preserve evidence that supports post-event analysis, threat characterization, and potential attribution by authorized ground support. | AU-14 AU-2 AU-3 AU-3(1) AU-4 AU-4(1) AU-5 AU-5(2) AU-5(5) AU-6(1) AU-6(4) AU-8 AU-9 AU-9(2) AU-9(3) CA-7(6) CM-11(3) CP-10 CP-10(4) IR-4 IR-4(11) IR-4(12) IR-4(14) IR-4(5) IR-5 IR-5(1) PL-8 PL-8(1) RA-10 RA-3(4) SA-8(21) SA-8(22) SA-8(23) SC-16(2) SC-32(1) SC-5 SC-5(3) SC-7(10) SC-7(9) SI-10(6) SI-16 SI-17 SI-3 SI-3(10) SI-3(8) SI-4 SI-4(1) SI-4(10) SI-4(11) SI-4(13) SI-4(16) SI-4(17) SI-4(2) SI-4(23) SI-4(24) SI-4(25) SI-4(4) SI-4(5) SI-4(7) SI-6 SI-7(17) SI-7(8) | A.8.15 A.8.15 A.8.6 A.8.17 A.5.33 A.8.15 A.8.15 A.5.29 A.5.25 A.5.26 A.5.27 A.5.8 A.5.7 A.8.12 A.8.7 A.8.16 A.8.16 A.8.16 A.8.16 | ||||
| CM0042 | Robust Fault Management | The fault management system is a high-privilege, autonomous spacecraft function that adversaries may attempt to exploit as an attack vector, triggering protective responses that place the spacecraft in a degraded or more vulnerable operational state. Attack scenarios include manipulating sensor, state, or telemetry information to induce onboard or ground-directed safing actions; creating false fault conditions through sensor spoofing or proximity operations; exploiting safe-mode configurations that reduce security protections; and inducing autonomous maneuver responses through crafted fault indications. Robust fault management requires that safing procedures and autonomous responses be designed with explicit security analysis confirming that each protective action does not introduce a more exploitable system state than the fault condition it responds to. The integrity and authenticity of sensor data, state information, commands, and telemetry used by onboard or ground-based fault management functions must be protected to prevent falsified inputs from triggering unintended responses. Every fault response, including mode transitions, actuator commands, and communication reconfigurations, must be evaluated against the question of whether an adversary could deliberately induce that response and whether the resulting system state provides the adversary with meaningful advantage. | CP-2 CP-4(5) IR-3 IR-3(1) IR-3(2) PE-10 PE-11 PE-11(1) PE-14 PL-8 PL-8(1) SA-3 SA-4(5) SA-8 SA-8(13) SA-8(24) SA-8(26) SA-8(3) SA-8(30) SA-8(4) SC-16(2) SC-24 SC-5 SI-13 SI-13(4) SI-17 SI-4(13) SI-4(7) SI-7(5) | 7.5.1 7.5.2 7.5.3 A.5.2 A.5.29 A.8.1 A.7.11 A.7.11 A.7.5 A.7.8 A.7.11 A.5.8 A.5.2 A.5.8 A.8.25 A.8.31 A.8.27 A.8.28 A.8.16 | ||||
| CM0044 | Cyber-safe Mode | Cyber-safe mode is a dedicated, configuration-controlled spacecraft operating state entered autonomously or by authorized ground command when mission-defined conditions indicate a credible threat to platform integrity. In this state, nonessential functions are shut down or isolated and the spacecraft operates from an integrity-protected, validated software and configuration baseline. Unlike traditional safe mode, which addresses hardware faults and operational anomalies, cyber-safe mode is specifically designed to respond to cyber threats, providing a secure recovery baseline from which the spacecraft can reconstitute compromised functions. Authentication and encryption must remain enabled within cyber-safe mode, ensuring that the reduced operational state does not degrade the security posture of the vehicle. The cyber-safe mode software and configuration must be stored onboard using hardware-based protections that prevent modification by nominal flight software, ordinary commands, and other untrusted execution paths. Where baseline updates are permitted, they must use a separately authorized and integrity-verified maintenance process that preserves a recoverable trusted version. Following entry into cyber-safe mode, the spacecraft must be capable of reconstituting firmware and software functions to pre-attack capability levels, either autonomously through self-healing mechanisms or with ground assistance, and must be capable of replanning operations based on whatever equipment remains available after the cyber event. The primary recovery objective is restoration of full mission capability; where that is not achievable, the spacecraft should attain the maximum reduced mission capability available given the post-attack system state. | CP-10 CP-10(4) CP-12 CP-2 CP-2(5) IR-3 IR-3(1) IR-3(2) IR-4 IR-4(12) IR-4(3) PE-10 PE10 PL-8 PL-8(1) SA-3 SA-8 SA-8(10) SA-8(12) SA-8(13) SA-8(19) SA-8(21) SA-8(23) SA-8(24) SA-8(26) SA-8(3) SA-8(4) SC-16(2) SC-24 SC-5 SI-11 SI-17 SI-4(7) SI-7(17) SI-7(5) | 7.5.1 7.5.2 7.5.3 A.5.2 A.5.29 A.8.1 A.5.29 A.5.25 A.5.26 A.5.27 A.7.11 A.5.8 A.5.2 A.5.8 A.8.25 A.8.31 A.8.27 A.8.28 | ||||
| CM0048 | Resilient Position, Navigation, and Timing | Where compatible authentication services are available, GNSS receivers used for spacecraft position, navigation, and timing (PNT) must authenticate the navigation information and its asserted GNSS system source before treating that information as trusted. Navigation-message authentication must not be treated as complete protection against spoofing because it may not authenticate the ranging signal or prevent all replay, meaconing, or signal-manipulation scenarios. Authenticated GNSS information should therefore be combined with PNT integrity monitoring and alternate navigation or timing sources appropriate to mission risk. The spacecraft must maintain a fault-tolerant authoritative time architecture capable of maintaining time within mission-defined accuracy and uncertainty limits when the primary source is degraded, rejected, or unavailable. The architecture should support the time-dependent cryptographic controls, command sequencing, telemetry correlation, fault-management logic, and other functions that rely on synchronized time. Each onboard processor must synchronize its internal clock to the authoritative time source whenever the measured time difference exceeds a threshold defined in the flight software (FSW), preventing clock drift from accumulating to levels that corrupt time-dependent functions. Where SpaceWire is used to distribute time, the spacecraft must implement the mission-defined synchronization protocol and achieve the accuracy required by the functions that consume that time. An accuracy of approximately one microsecond should be applied where required by the mission architecture and verified for the applicable SpaceWire nodes and operational configurations. | CP-2 PE-20 PL-8 PL-8(1) SA-9 SC-16(2) SC-45 SC-45(1) SC-45(2) | 7.5.1 7.5.2 7.5.3 A.5.2 A.5.29 A.8.1 A.5.10 A.5.8 A.5.2 A.5.4 A.5.8 A.5.14 A.5.22 A.5.23 A.8.21 | ||||