Stealth Satellites Developments Source Book

You can't hijack, intercept or hide from what you don't see or don't know it's there, and stealthy satellites are going to get even more attention in the ongoing weaponization of space and the emerging space warfare arms race. Here's a huge compilation of articles and news items related to the development of stealthy satellites. An excerpt from an article within :

"The United States is building a new generation of spy satellites designed to orbit undetected, in a highly classified program that has provoked opposition in closed congressional sessions where lawmakers have questioned its necessity and rapidly escalating price, according to U.S. officials. The previously undisclosed effort has almost doubled in projected cost -- from $5 billion to nearly $9.5 billion, officials said. The National Reconnaissance Office, which manages spy satellite programs, has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the program, officials said. The stealth satellite, which would probably become the largest single-item expenditure in the $40 billion intelligence budget, is to be launched in the next five years and is meant to replace an existing stealth satellite, according to officials. Non-stealth satellites can be tracked and their orbits can be predicted, allowing countries to attempt to hide weapons or troop movements on the ground when they are overhead. Opponents of the new program, however, argue that the satellite is no longer a good match against today's adversaries: terrorists seeking small quantities of illicit weapons, or countries such as North Korea and Iran, which are believed to have placed their nuclear weapons programs underground and inside buildings specifically to avoid detection from spy satellites and aircraft."

Issues to keep in mind :
- pre-launch leak in today's OSINT world
- synchronization with HUMINT, SIGINT, OSINT gathered data to avoid deception, some developments are right there under your nose
- amateur radio and satellite enthusiasts outwitting the stealthiness as it always happens
- win-win IMINT sharing between countries can often cover the full spectrum, dependability is of course an issue

Related resources and posts:
Defense
Satellite
Japan's Reliance on U.S Spy Satellites and Early Warning Missile Systems
Open Source North Korean IMINT Reloaded

Zero Day Initiative Upcoming Zero Day Vulnerabilities

Details on a dozen of "upcoming zero day vulnerabilities" are emerging from TippingPoint's Zero Day Initiative :

"Over the past year, the most resounding suggestion from our Zero Day Initiative researchers was to add more transparency to our program by publishing the pipeline of vendors with pending zero day vulnerabilities. The following is a list of vulnerabilities discovered by researchers enrolled in the Zero Day Initiative that have yet to be publicly disclosed. The affected vendor has been contacted on the specified date and while they work on a patch for these vulnerabilities, TippingPoint customers are protected from exploitation by IPS filters delivered ahead of public disclosure. A list of published advisories is also available."

Note the time from vulnerability reporting to patch on some vendors:

ZDI-CAN-041 -- Computer Associates -- High -- 2006.04.07, 144 days ago
ZDI-CAN-042 -- Adobe -- High -- 2006.04.07, 144 days ago
ZDI-CAN-046 -- Computer Associates -- High -- 2006.04.07, 144 days ago
ZDI-CAN-061 -- Microsoft -- High -- 2006.06.14, 76 days ago

Don't be in a hurry to blame the vendors, as in between having to deal with these zero day vulnerabilities, they're all providing patches to fix the emerging ones, that is those who get the highest publicty and make the headlines so actively that there's no other way but dedicating product development time to quality assurance. Keep in mind that, even though vendors are still working on fixing these, apparently TippingPoint's IPS customers are protected -- they're aware of these exploits. Excluding the vendor dependability issue, and the fact that ZDI is indisputably turning into a HR-on-demand think-tank for vulnerability research, I discussed some of the issues regarding the possible motivation of the vulnerability informediaries and what to keep in mind in a previous post :

- trying to attract the most talented researchers, instead of having them turn to the dark side? I doubt they are that much socially oriented, but still it's an option?

- ensuring the proactive security of its customers through first notifying them, and them and then the general public? That doesn't necessarily secures the Internet, and sort of provides the clientele with a false feeling of security, "what if" a (malicious) vulnerability researcher doesn't cooperate with iDefense, and instead sells an 0day to a competitor? Would the vendor's IPS protect against a threat like that too?

- fighting against the permanent opportunity of another 0day, gaining only a temporary momentum advantage?

- improving the company's clients list through constant collaboration with leading vendors while communication a vulnerability in their software products?

Diversify your infrastructure to minimize the damages due to zero day outbreaks, ensure end users are privileged as much as they need, do your homework, camouflage and implement early warning systems/decoys, and yes, keep track of your assets and ensure they're already protected from what's known to be their vulnerability. Responsible disclosure is the socially oriented approach, trouble is the Internet itself is a capitalistic society with basic market forces.

Related posts:

Was the WMF vulnerability purchased for $4000?!
0bay - how realistic is the market for security vulnerabilities?
Scientifically Predicting Software Vulnerabilities