Future phones could stay connected where coverage disappears

“Satellites will complement terrestrial mobile networks and could allow phones to remain connected in places where coverage is currently unavailable,” says Sandeewani Wanigasundara, a doctoral student in cybersecurity at Luleå University of Technology.

In this interview, she explains the role of satellites in 6G, the cybersecurity risks associated with satellite-integrated mobile networks, and how artificial intelligence can help detect cyberattacks.

Could you briefly tell us about your research?

– My research focuses on cybersecurity for non-terrestrial networks in 6G, particularly how satellites can be securely integrated with terrestrial mobile networks.

I study the cyber threats this integration creates and how artificial intelligence can help detect attacks. I also explore the vulnerabilities of AI itself.

Why will satellites be so important for 6G, and how might ordinary people notice the difference?

– Satellites will complement terrestrial mobile networks. They can reach places where terrestrial infrastructure is difficult or expensive to build, including rural areas, oceans, aircraft, disaster zones, and remote industrial sites.

For ordinary people, the change may feel simple: their phones could remain connected in places where they currently lose coverage. If we are hiking somewhere remote, sailing, or driving through a desert, we have probably lost the signal entirely at some point. After a hurricane, earthquake, or flood, cell towers are also often damaged along with power lines. This happens at precisely the moment when people need to call for help or reach their families.

With 6G non-terrestrial infrastructure in place, this could change. A phone could automatically switch from the terrestrial network to a non-terrestrial connection, potentially without requiring dedicated satellite hardware. We can already see early examples of this technology, as some phones can now send emergency messages via satellite.

What are the biggest cybersecurity risks when mobile networks increasingly depend on satellites?

– Integrating terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks creates a larger and more complex attack surface. A future service may involve satellites, inter-satellite links, ground stations, gateways, terrestrial operators, and user devices. A weakness in one component could affect the wider service.

Satellite links also cover large geographical areas. Satellites move quickly, leading to frequent handovers and changing connections. This makes authentication, key management, secure software updates, and cyberattack detection more difficult.

How can artificial intelligence help detect cyberattacks in future satellite networks?

– AI can quickly examine large amounts of network traffic and satellite data. It can identify unusual patterns that may indicate an intrusion, jamming, or abnormal satellite activity.

However, AI can also be attacked. An attacker may poison its training data, fool it with carefully modified inputs, or hide a backdoor in the model. AI may also mistake normal changes caused by satellite movement or Doppler effects for attacks. Therefore, we need to study AI as both a defence mechanism and a potential attack surface.

What has been the most exciting part of your research so far?

– The most exciting part has been identifying a gap in existing research and gradually turning it into a clearly defined problem that I can test and try to solve.