SpaceSec 2025

3rd Workshop on the Security of Space and Satellite Systems

Co-located with the NDSS Symposium

24 February 2025

In the upcoming years, a significant increase in the number of satellites is expected as novel mega-constellations take their position in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Including initiatives like Starlink and OneWeb, projections suggest the deployment of over 100,000 satellites in the next several years. They have increasingly become integral components of both consumer-oriented and critical infrastructures.

These critical functions, ranging from global navigation and positioning systems to providing phone connections and imaging data, play an ever more crucial role in modern society. The precarious place of satellite systems in the communication and navigation infrastructure naturally makes them attractive targets for cyber attacks. This was evidenced in a major attack on the ViaSat network during the initial days of the war in Ukraine and ongoing disruptions of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) around the world.

The principal vulnerability of satellite systems has been public knowledge since the mid-2000s. Despite early warnings, the security of both legacy and novel deployments remains severely lacking. Recent publications have renewed interest and highlighted the persistence of security issues, now on a much larger scale.

SpaceSec aims to bring together academic researchers, industry professionals, and government representatives to contribute to new theories, technologies, and systems for security/privacy challenges in space and on the ground.

Important Dates

Paper Submission Deadline 9 December 2024 (AoE)
Notification of Acceptance 16 January 2025 (AoE)
Workshop Date 24 February 2025 (Pacific Standard Time)
Camera Ready Submission 22 March 2025 (AoE)

Call for Papers

The scope of SpaceSec includes systems directly or indirectly related to or dependent on space and satellite systems, including the communication links (satellite-ground, satellite-satellite), the ground segment, and the space segment. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Space Systems Security

Communications Security

Privacy and Usability

Space Security Strategies

Submission Guidelines

All papers must be original and not simultaneously submitted to another journal or conference. The following paper types are welcome:

Short Paper: Maximum 4 pages. Short papers should provide enough context for the reader to understand the contribution. Preliminary work is encouraged but not required.

Long Paper: Maximum 8 pages. Traditional research papers.

Submissions should follow the double-column NDSS format. Page limits exclude the bibliography and appendices, which can be up to 2 pages for long papers and 1 page for short papers.

Submission link: https://spacesec25.hotcrp.com/

We invite submissions in the following categories:

Anonymization and the Review Process: The review process is double-blind. All submissions should be anonymized.

Publication: SpaceSec25 proceedings will be published post-conference with the NDSS 2025.

Further Notes: At least one author of each accepted paper must register for the workshop and present the paper. Simultaneous submission of the same work to multiple venues, submission of previously published work, and plagiarism are prohibited.


Organization

TPC and General Co-Chairs

Samuel Jero, MIT Lincoln Laboratory (US), samuel.jero@ll.mit.edu

Aanjhan Ranganathan, Northeastern University (US), aanjhan.ranganathan@northeastern.edu

Web Chair

Simon Birnbach, University of Oxford (UK), simon.birnbach@cs.ox.ac.uk

Publicity Chair

Jessie Hamill-Stewart, University of Bath and University of Bristol (UK), jessie.hamill-stewart@bristol.ac.uk

Steering Committee

Program Committee