The Deloitte Center for Government Insights released a recent report on protecting space assets from cyber threats, with recommendations for companies throughout the space value chain to be on the offensive against cyber threats. 

Noting that cyberthreats to space assets aren’t new, the report says the risk has increased in recent years as more digital and interconnected satellites produce more cyber vulnerabilities. 

The report identified three critical vulnerabilities for space systems: difficulty seeing and sensing cyber adversaries; limited collaboration among companies and governments to share threat information; and insufficient security from the cyber supply chain to the end users.

It includes a number of recommendations to take action. One of which is to adopt AI and ML tools to improve cyber situational awareness across space segments and help sift through the volume of data. “AI tools can also be used to understand, anticipate, model, and simulate potential attack scenarios, allowing organizations to build an attack management program proactively and fortify their systems accordingly,” the report says. 

The report advocates for information-sharing across the different aspects of space systems, including assets in orbit, ground infrastructure, user terminals, communications networks, and launch. Yet it acknowledges there can be challenges when it comes to proprietary information, or sharing too much that the information can reach bad actors. It pointed to Space ISAC as a place where the industry can share information privately without the market or oversight pressures. 

The report advocates for a secure-by-design approach to ensure that cybersecurity is a priority throughout the engineering, manufacturing, and operations life cycles. One example of a risk in this area could be malicious code implanted in hardware that lays dormant until its activated. The Deloitte report recommends stringent security checks throughout the supply chain, especially with partners. 

“Space systems face an increasingly complex cyberthreat landscape, but the risk isn’t limited to the space industry,” the report says. “Attacks on space systems can ripple across industries and borders. The space industry should adopt measures that enhance defensive cyber operations. The cyberthreat to space systems is evident today, and efforts to thwart them should be, too.”