China's satellite Internet will need new encryption technologies for security. And are you protected?

With the advent of the Internet of Everything era, the importance of satellite Internet is becoming more and more obvious. At the end of 2024, the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Data Administration, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China released the "Guidelines for the Construction of National Data Infrastructure", proposing to "establish a 'space-earth integrated' satellite Internet".

Currently, China has launched several satellite constellation projects, such as the "Hongyan Constellation" of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the "Hongyun Project" of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, and the "Apocalypse Constellation" of China State Power Technology Corporation. Among them, the "GW Constellation" of China Star Network and the "Thousand Sails Constellation" of Shanghai Yuanxin Satellite are constellation projects that are expected to launch more than 10,000 satellites, and the construction period may last more than ten years.

However, security issues cannot be ignored.

Currently, the development of satellite Internet nationwide in China is still in its early stages. But industry experts believe that the security issues of satellite Internet should be taken seriously from the very beginning. "The increase in the number of satellite launches means that the demand for security is also increasing at the same time." Quan Xiaowen pointed out that, unlike traditional fiber-optic communications, satellite Internet uses radio waves to transmit signals. A radius can cover hundreds of kilometers, and all terminal devices in the area can receive the signal. This openness makes satellite communications extremely vulnerable to interference, eavesdropping, and even attacks. "On the one hand, we need to ensure the security of transmission between 'sky' (satellite) and 'earth' (ground terminal); on the other hand, we also need to consider the security protection between satellites and between nodes within the ground network."

And are you protected?

Not long ago, at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan Province, the satellite internet low-orbit group 02 satellites were successfully launched and entered the predetermined orbit smoothly.

Information released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that the satellite internet low-orbit 02 satellite group uses Ka and other frequency band payloads, mainly providing users with broadband communications, Internet access and other services. In the early stage, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology innovated the satellite frequency orbit resource management method and issued space radio station licenses and radio frequency use permits in batches, providing strong support for the smooth implementation of the satellite internet project.

What is satellite internet? What is the value of developing satellite internet? The advantages of the Internet of Everything are obvious.

Satellite Internet is a global communication system that provides Internet services based on satellite communication technology. According to industry experts, it is a satellite communication system that is composed of space nodes distributed in different orbits, connected through intersatellite links and ground gateways. By integrating ground mobile networks and the Internet, and using the Internet as a foundation, it forms an "air-ground-integrated" network interconnection and provides an information infrastructure for ubiquitous Internet access services. Users can use satellites to achieve extensive and convenient network connections around the world.

With the advent of the era of Internet of Everything, the importance of satellite Internet is becoming increasingly prominent.

Satellite Internet has a coverage area far beyond that of traditional Internet, and can effectively make up for the shortcomings of traditional mobile communication services. Zhang Tao, a professor at the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Beihang University, believes that satellite Internet is the "next generation of Internet". It can make information flow more smoothly and quickly, and allow the network to cover a wider environment. It is of great significance in solving network coverage in remote areas, realizing emergency communications, and promoting economic development.

"Satellite Internet is different from traditional satellite communication networks and Internet networks. It can provide users with richer application scenarios and more complete communication guarantees." Quan Xiaowen, chairman of Shengbang Security Technology Group, said that satellite Internet is not an upgrade of the satellite communication network, but a reconstruction. "Satellite Internet uses satellites as an extension of signals, allowing information to land as quickly as possible, serving more users through ground networks, and achieving wider business coverage through satellites."

Quan Xiaowen pointed out that the widely used 4G and 5G signals currently rely mainly on wireless connections between ground communication base stations and mobile phones. However, in areas with sparse populations and complex geographical environments, the deployment cost and difficulty of traditional communication base stations are high, making it difficult to achieve mobile signal coverage in many areas. However, by deploying thousands of low-orbit satellites, satellite Internet can not only provide Internet services to remote areas, but also provide reliable communication support for aviation, navigation, emergency rescue and other fields.

In terms of low latency, satellite Internet significantly shortens signal transmission time by deploying a large number of low-orbit satellites. Quan Xiaowen said: "The latency of traditional satellite networks is usually between 110 and 270 milliseconds, while in an ideal state, the latency of satellite Internet is less than 10 milliseconds."

In terms of communication capabilities, the high-throughput satellite technology used by satellite Internet uses high-frequency bands, multi-spot beams, and frequency reuse technologies to greatly improve satellite communication capabilities, providing tens or even hundreds of times the capacity of traditional satellites, and can provide strong network support for emerging industries such as virtual reality, autonomous driving, and the Internet of Things. For example, while driving, an autonomous vehicle can receive real-time congestion information on the road ahead through satellite Internet, and quickly adjust its route to avoid traffic jams.

Based on these advantages, many countries have proposed or are implementing satellite Internet networking plans in recent years. China has also accelerated its construction in this field.

With the advent of the Internet of Everything era, the importance of satellite Internet is becoming more and more obvious. At the end of 2024, the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Data Administration, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China released the "Guidelines for the Construction of National Data Infrastructure", proposing to "establish a 'space-earth integrated' satellite Internet".

Currently, China has launched several satellite constellation projects, such as the "Hongyan Constellation" of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the "Hongyun Project" of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, and the "Apocalypse Constellation" of China State Power Technology Corporation. Among them, the "GW Constellation" of China Star Network and the "Thousand Sails Constellation" of Shanghai Yuanxin Satellite are constellation projects that are expected to launch more than 10,000 satellites, and the construction period may last more than ten years.

However, security issues cannot be ignored.

Currently, the development of satellite Internet nationwide in China is still in its early stages. But industry experts believe that the security issues of satellite Internet should be taken seriously from the very beginning.

At present, the development of domestic satellite Internet is still in its early stages. However, industry experts believe that the security issues of satellite Internet should be taken seriously earlier.

"The increase in the number of satellite launches means that the demand for security is also growing." Quan Xiaowen pointed out that unlike traditional fiber-optic communications, satellite Internet relies on radio waves to transmit signals. The coverage range of a beam can reach hundreds of kilometers, and all terminal devices in the area can receive the signal. This openness makes satellite communications extremely vulnerable to interference, interception, and even attack. "On the one hand, we must ensure the security of transmission between 'sky' (satellite) and 'ground' (ground terminal); on the other hand, we must also take into account the security protection between satellites and between nodes within the ground network."

For example, the field of emergency rescue unmanned equipment is a major application scenario of satellite Internet. Whether in the plateau, forest, or offshore, unmanned equipment connected to satellite Internet can be connected to the Internet and run, which poses a security risk. For example, in a forest fire prevention mission, firefighting drones may have to fly over long distances, which places strict requirements on network security.

For example, in the application of the Internet of Things, data can be transmitted through satellite networks from tower base monitoring to transmission line icing monitoring. How to ensure the security of information transmission in the intermediate process is also crucial.

Faced with such complex and ever-changing security challenges, Quan Xiaowen pointed out that satellite Internet uses cryptography to define network boundaries and achieve network isolation for different users, while the security measures used in traditional Internet are difficult to work on satellite Internet. "New encryption technologies should be used to redefine network boundaries and user identity authentication mechanisms, so that the security protection capabilities of satellite Internet can be significantly improved. By improving cryptographic algorithms, we can effectively address the practicality and reliability challenges of large-scale applications of satellite Internet. The application of cryptography is equivalent to putting on 'protective clothing' for data, helping to solve the security issues of information transmission."

The satellite Internet supply chain consists of multiple closely connected links. Once a security loophole appears in any link, it may trigger systemic risks. Therefore, industry experts believe that a satellite Internet situational awareness platform should be established to achieve real-time monitoring, data management, situation analysis, risk assessment and rapid response of satellite operation status, so as to fully guarantee the safe, stable and efficient operation of satellite Internet.

Plan for the future as early as possible.

The construction and development of satellite Internet requires long-term planning.

Yu Yuanhang, a senior engineer at the Beijing Institute of Space Systems Engineering, pointed out that the development of satellite Internet mainly relies on low-orbit satellites. The size of the low-orbit space determines the number of satellites that can be deployed.

"Low-orbit satellites refer to satellites that orbit between a few hundred kilometers and about 2,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface. These satellites have the characteristics of short transmission delay and low link loss due to their low orbital altitude, making them very suitable for the development of satellite Internet services." Yu Yuanhang pointed out that the total number of satellites that can be accommodated in this area is limited. The International Telecommunication Union stipulates that the acquisition of low-orbit and communication frequency band resources follows the principle of "first come, first served, first served, always received".

To this end, Yu Yuanhang believes that in order to maintain independence in the communications field and consider the development channels of related industries, it is necessary to accelerate the development of Internet constellations and deploy low-orbit satellite spectrum resources as soon as possible.

Building a commercial space development path with Chinese characteristics will help promote the construction of satellite Internet.

"The development of commercial aerospace is an important aspect of satellite Internet construction. We can use the advantages of private enterprises in high efficiency and rapid innovation to develop related industries." Zhang Tao pointed out that when satellite Internet construction is more complete, ordinary people can also play games in the desert, post to WeChat Moments on snowy mountains, broadcast live in the deep sea, and even enjoy full communication status on flights at an altitude of 10,000 meters.