China’s Internet Satellites

At the beginning of August, China launched a second satellite as part of their internet communication constellation in geostationary orbit. The payload on this satellite is High Orbit Internet satellite-02 or Weixing Hulianwan Gaogui-02. The initial satellite in this constellation was launched 6 months prior. Although China already has ChinaSat-26 – a geostationary comms satellite providing 100 Gbps to both military and civilian users on orbit, it is unclear how this new constellation will differ.

The security measures are as just hidden as their purpose. Primary cybersecurity concerns here include:
1. Spoofing
2. Jamming
3. Intercept of unencrypted transmissions and communications
4. Attacks on the ground stations

Sources:
1. https://spacenews.com/china-launches-second-secretive-high-orbit-internet-satellite/
2. https://spacenews.com/china-launches-high-capacity-communications-satellite-after-39-day-pause/