Threat actors may overwhelm/jam the downlink signal to prevent transmitted telemetry signals from reaching their destination without severe modification/interference, effectively leaving ground controllers unaware of vehicle activity during this time. Telemetry is the only method in which ground controllers can monitor the health and stability of the SV while in orbit. By disabling this downlink, threat actors may be able to stop mitigations from taking place.
| ID | Name | Description | NIST Rev5 | D3FEND | ISO 27001 | |
| CM0002 | COMSEC | Utilizing secure communication protocols with strong cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure of, and detect changes to, information during transmission. Systems should also maintain the confidentiality and integrity of information during preparation for transmission and during reception. Spacecraft should not employ a mode of operations where cryptography on the TT&C link can be disabled (i.e., crypto-bypass mode). The cryptographic mechanisms should identify and reject wireless transmissions that are deliberate attempts to achieve imitative or manipulative communications deception based on signal parameters. | AC-17(1) AC-17(10) AC-17(10) AC-17(2) AC-18(1) AC-2(11) AC-3(10) IA-4(9) IA-5 IA-5(7) IA-7 SA-8(18) SA-9(6) SC-10 SC-12 SC-12(1) SC-12(2) SC-12(3) SC-12(6) SC-13 SC-16(3) SC-28(1) SC-28(3) SC-7 SC-7(11) SC-7(18) SI-10 SI-10(3) SI-10(5) SI-10(6) SI-19(4) | A.8.16 A.5.16 A.5.17 A.5.14 A.8.16 A.8.20 A.8.22 A.8.23 A.8.26 A.8.20 A.8.24 A.8.24 A.8.26 A.5.31 A.5.33 A.8.11 | ||
| CM0034 | Monitor Critical Telemetry Points | Monitor defined telemetry points for malicious activities (i.e., jamming attempts, commanding attempts (e.g., command modes, counters, etc.)). This would include valid/processed commands as well as commands that were rejected. Telemetry monitoring should synchronize with ground-based Defensive Cyber Operations (i.e., SIEM/auditing) to create a full space system situation awareness from a cybersecurity perspective. | AC-17(1) AU-3(1) CA-7(6) IR-4(14) SC-7 | A.8.16 A.5.14 A.8.16 A.8.20 A.8.22 A.8.23 A.8.26 | ||
| CM0070 | Alternate Communications Paths | Establish alternate communications paths to reduce the risk of all communications paths being affected by the same incident. | CP-8(3) SC-47 | |||
| CM0029 | TRANSEC | Utilize TRANSEC to secure data transmissions from being infiltrated, exploited, or intercepted. | AC-18(5) CP-8 SC-40 SC-40(1) SC-40(3) SC-40(4) SC-8(4) | A.5.29 A.7.11 | ||