Abstract
Starlink is a new communication network architecture that uses thousands of low-orbiting satellites to provide high-speed, low-latency Internet services. However, there is still much information about Starlink that has not been disclosed to the public. The details of Starlink network architecture, and key nodes which are important to deeply understand and evaluate the performance, security, and impact of Starlink, etc. are still not known. In this paper, we propose an efficient Starlink asset detection framework based on active detection, passive detection, and non-intrusive search engine-based detection methods for the effective discovery and identification of Starlink assets. Based on this framework, this paper implements SeeStar, a Starlink asset mapping system, and provides a detailed analysis of Starlink ground stations and key nodes, exploring their roles and characteristics in the network. Finally, this paper provides an aggregated analysis of Starlink assets in terms of device and service dimensions, and attempts to evaluate their security. The work in this paper provides a powerful methodology and system to unravel the mystery of Starlink network.
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Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the Scaling Program of Institute of Information Engineering, CAS (Grant No. E3Z0191101) and the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences with No. XDC02030400.
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Zhang, L., Qin, Y., Zhu, Y., Cheng, Y., Jie, Z., Liu, Q. (2023). SeeStar: An Efficient Starlink Asset Detection Framework. In: Yung, M., Chen, C., Meng, W. (eds) Science of Cyber Security . SciSec 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14299. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45933-7_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45933-7_9
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