U.S. satellite hack attempt didn't leave enough evidence to determine the perpetrators

Two satellites used by the U.S. Government were the targets of a hack attempt that apparently originated from a ground control station located in Norway. The announcement came from the commander of the U.S. military space operations. The commander noted that they lacked the evidence needed to be able to determine who attempted to hack the satellites.

However, the same day that the commander, Gen. Robert Kehler, announced the hack attempts the government of Australia also announced that they did not ask the U.S. before allowing China to access a ground station used in Western Australia that is also used by NASA. The same thing may have happened in the case of the hacking attempts on the two other satellites.

Kongsberg Satellite Services owns the ground station in Norway, which in turn is owned 50/50 by a private Norwegian defense firm and a Norwegian state company. Kongsberg Satellite Services denied that any interference with U.S. satellites happened through its ground station. A commission investigating the satellite hacks has said that the attacks have not been traced back to China, but the techniques used appear to be Chinese.

[via WSJ]