Thermal Imaging attacks
Parent: EXF-0002
Description
Threat actors can leverage thermal imaging attacks (e.g., infrared images) to measure heat that is emitted as a means to exfiltrate information from spacecraft processors. Thermal attacks rely on temperature profiling using sensors to extract critical information from the chip(s). The availability of highly sensitive thermal sensors, infrared cameras, and techniques to calculate power consumption from temperature distribution [7] has enhanced the effectiveness of these attacks. As a result, side-channel attacks can be performed by using temperature data without measuring power pins of the chip.
Mappings
EU regulation articles
(2)(e) confidentiality is in the data-protection domain but does not interdict thermal-emanation extraction; the operative control is physical thermal masking/shielding (TEMPEST), so record as addresses.
mitigates DOWNGRADE: (2)(k) exploitation-mitigation is domain-adjacent but does not interdict a thermal side-channel that extracts secrets through physical heat emission; the operative controls are physical (thermal masking, balanced thermal layout, TEMPEST/EMSEC shielding), not generic incident-impact mechanisms.
Thermal-imaging attacks (primary mapping: Annex I, Part I, (2)(k)) cascade to (3) — thermal-balancing countermeasures require periodic validation through thermal-imaging-based security testing.
Art. 85(1)'s cryptographic concept is crypto-domain-relevant to thermal side-channels, but does not interdict the thermal emanation; thermal-balancing physical design is the actual mitigation.
Art. 21(2)(h) crypto policy does not interdict thermal-imaging extraction; the operative mitigation is thermal and emission design, not use-of-cryptography policy. Addresses (domain relevance).
Thermal-imaging exfiltration observes IR signatures of processors and harnesses; the protection-against-physical-and-environmental-threats obligation covers thermal-signature management (insulation, radiator placement, deliberate dummy heaters) that resists thermal analysis.
ENISA controls
Security of power systems with power-randomisation hardware indirectly limits chip-level temperature signatures correlated with power consumption.
A tamper-resistant body encasing sensor nodes is a physical-protection control relevant to the physical side-channel domain, but the excerpt describes tamper-resistant material rather than thermal masking or shielding, so it does not actively counter thermal-imaging exfiltration.
Cross-reference controls
Referenced in: sparta-data
Mapped by SPARTA, not curated by SafeMode Space.
Referenced in: sparta-data
Mapped by SPARTA, not curated by SafeMode Space.
T2029.001 'Optical (visual) reconnaissance' covers optical-sensor proximity intelligence — addresses the IR/thermal-camera subset of EXF-0002.05 when conducted from on-orbit proximity assets.
T2035 covers side-channel exfiltration — addresses EXF-0002.05 Thermal Imaging Attacks (using temperature profiling to extract information). SPACE-SHIELD has no thermal-imaging-specific sub-technique.
SPARTA countermeasures
Mapped by SPARTA, not curated by SafeMode Space.
Cite as SafeMode Space, EXF-0002.05 (SPARTA v3.2).