The US military recently launched a groundbreaking initiative to strengthen ties with the commercial space industry. The aim is to integrate commercial equipment into military space operations, including satellites and other hardware. This would enhance cybersecurity for military satellites. As space becomes more important to the world’s critical infrastructure, the risk increases that hostile nation-states will deploy cyberattacks on important satellites and other space infrastructure.
This strategic shift by the US Department of Defense is therefore likely to encourage more global companies to participate. Resilience to cyberattacks in the space industry has not always been a top priority. It is likely to take time for this to enter the thinking of major players in the space sector. This historical lack of emphasis on cybersecurity in space highlights an obvious need.