Hi All,
NSA just published CSA Protecting VSAT Communications
Commercial Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) networks are increasingly used for
remote communications in support of U.S. government missions. Due to the nature of
VSAT network communication links and recent vulnerabilities discovered in VSAT
terminals, network communications over these links are at risk of being exposed and
may be targeted by adversaries for the sensitive information they contain or to
compromise connected networks. Most of these links are unencrypted, relying on frequency
separation or predictable frequency hopping rather than encryption to separate
communications. Public vulnerability research has found certain terminal equipment vulnerable to
compromise and illicit firmware modification
NSA recommends that VSAT networks:
- enable any available transmission security (TRANSEC) protections,
- segment and encrypt network communications before transmitting across the VSAT links, and
- keep VSAT equipment and firmware up to date
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Michael Roza CPA, CISA, CIA, MBA, Exec MBA
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