{"id":51062,"date":"2024-06-25T19:01:11","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T11:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/10-takeaways-from-cal-polys-space-cyberattacks-report\/"},"modified":"2024-06-25T19:01:11","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T11:01:11","slug":"10-takeaways-from-cal-polys-space-cyberattacks-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/10-takeaways-from-cal-polys-space-cyberattacks-report\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Takeaways From Cal Poly\u2019s Space Cyberattacks Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Recently at Cal Poly, we released a 95-page report on outer space cyberattacks, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation. As the first of its kind, it explains not only what is driving this growing problem, but also how to anticipate novel scenarios to avoid being taken by surprise.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the 10 top findings from that report:<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rpbaq8SlSiez72PVjPFP_VS_070124_DGTL_Cover-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" style=\"width: 120px; height: auto;\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rpbaq8SlSiez72PVjPFP_VS_070124_DGTL_Cover-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rpbaq8SlSiez72PVjPFP_VS_070124_DGTL_Cover-800x599.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rpbaq8SlSiez72PVjPFP_VS_070124_DGTL_Cover-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rpbaq8SlSiez72PVjPFP_VS_070124_DGTL_Cover.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"fs-5 mt-0\">Explore the July 2024 Issue<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-0 fs-smaller text-balance\">Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-primary\" type=\"button\" data-bs-toggle=\"offcanvas\" data-bs-target=\"#offcanvasMENU\" aria-controls=\"offcanvasExample\" aria-label=\"button\" style=\"white-space: nowrap;\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tView More <i class=\"bi bi-arrow-right-circle\"><\/i><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/button><\/p>\n<h3>Space Cybersecurity is an Invisible Threat<\/h3>\n<p>Most people are unaware of how dependent the modern world is on space services. Maybe they understand that GPS is helpful when they need to drive, but it\u2019s so much more than that. Also, space systems can be incredibly complex, which means vulnerabilities can slip in across a long supply chain, as well as across the years or even decades needed to build a major spacecraft. As a result, space systems can be 10 years behind on cybersecurity upon launch.<\/p>\n<h3>We\u2019re in a New Space Race Now<\/h3>\n<p>By all accounts, space is getting more congested and contested. For more than a decade, we are seeing exponential growth in the number of objects launched in space, which had been more or less constant since the mid-1960s. Both nation-states and private actors are rushing into space in what some see as another \u201cgold rush\u201d and all that it implies.<\/p>\n<h3>Cyberattacks Look to be the Primary Mode of Conflict in Space<\/h3>\n<p>The remoteness of outer space means we can\u2019t just swap out a server on a satellite anytime we want, as one example. This puts a limit on how far we can harden cybersecurity defenses, and that cyber insecurity gets worse over time \u2014 making space systems an attractive target for hackers. The very serious threat of space debris also pushes us toward space cyberattacks in a conflict: unlike kinetic or physical attacks, cyberattacks generally don\u2019t blow things up and don\u2019t make the debris problem worse.<\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a6d37a905723;googletag.cmd.push(function(){var AIMAP_29b58f13885ebf8ea6b032f958eb0748 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([992, 100], [[970, 90], [970, 250]]).addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_737ce075cc05dd766c8f8ea08f3faa73 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([1200, 100], [970, 250]).addSize([768, 100], [600, 300]).addSize([320, 100], [300, 250]).build();AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a6d37a905723 = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a6d37a905724').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a6d37a905724'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Failure of Imagination is a Huge Risk in Security Planning<\/h3>\n<p>Imagine if defense agencies talked vaguely about \u201chacking a computer\u201d as their only scenario in securing their networks. That\u2019s not very helpful to cyber defenders given the countless ways and contexts such a hack could happen, and it practically guarantees you\u2019ll be taken by surprise. Something similar is going on in space cybersecurity where typically the only scenarios ever raised are vaguely about \u201chacking a satellite\u201d or \u201cjamming (or spoofing) signals.\u201d We need a much fuller range of plausible scenarios to avoid tunnel vision.<\/p>\n<h3>Existing Taxonomies Don\u2019t Help With Imagineering<\/h3>\n<p>A taxonomy can help think through a problem-space, and very capable ones exist that catalog the various techniques a hacker could use. But for the purposes of anticipating novel scenarios in outer space, that\u2019s not enough, as the next point below also explains. Existing taxonomies tend to be either too technical for an exercise in imagineering or too general to be relevant to the space domain. Imagineering is crucial because threat actors are already creative and resourceful; defenders need to keep pace.<\/p>\n<h3>The Who, What, Where, When, and Why are Crucial<\/h3>\n<p>More than an inventory of how a hacker might exploit a system, we need to consider a wide range of threat actors, their motivations, their victims, and the space capabilities affected. Together, these variables answer the who, what, where, when, why, and how of a scenario. The ICARUS matrix we\u2019ve created can generate more than 4 million unique scenario-prompts to kickstart the forecasting process.<\/p>\n<h3>Unexpected Scenarios Could Happen Tomorrow<\/h3>\n<p>We can be surprised by some space cyberattack scenarios that are possible in the immediate future. Here\u2019s one, out of the 42 scenarios we offer as a starting list to begin priming the imagination-pump:<\/p>\n<p>Ransomware: is this an inconvenient time?  Data can be more valuable than money, especially if it\u2019s critical data that can\u2019t be accessed when needed. Imagine if a ransomware attack were initiated on a rocket in mid-launch of a payload worth $1 billion or more. There would be great incentives to pay a ransom of $5 million or even $50 million in bitcoin to prevent a failed mission and lost payload. Similarly, ransom demands for spacecraft returning to Earth would be very difficult to refuse, especially if they were crewed or could potentially crash-land in a heavily populated area.<\/p>\n<h3>Diversity of Threat Actors Require a Diversity of Experts to Tackle<\/h3>\n<p>Hackers are not a monolithic group, despite stereotypes. They can range from the basement hacker to organized crime to cyber mercenaries to political terrorists to religious cults to chaos agents and many others. As such, their motivations are also diverse, as well as their intended targets and so on. Interdisciplinary teams are thus needed to understand these threat actors and scenarios, which may require different strategies to guard against or in a response. Group-think can be as fatal as tunnel vision.<\/p>\n<h3>To Solve a Problem, You Must First Understand It<\/h3>\n<p>Our report unpacks seven contributing factors behind the rise of space cyberattacks. A few are mentioned above, such as the new space race, complexity of space systems, remoteness of space, and space debris. Other factors include the well-known ambiguities and gaps in both cyber law and space law, since unclear law doesn\u2019t help much with deterrence or keeping the peace. Commercial space in particular is under-regulated, which creates room for misunderstandings and misdeeds; this, in turn, can fuel tensions and resentments, potentially creating a conflict.<\/p>\n<h3>The Stakes are Unusually High in Orbit<\/h3>\n<p>Related to the first point, most people don\u2019t know how much critical infrastructure is in outer space, delivering services and data that the modern world requires every day. Also, with Russia\u2019s hacking of Viasat\u2019s satellite internet equipment at the start of its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, we\u2019re now in the middle of the world\u2019s first \u201cspace war\u201d where both sides are using space capabilities. Tensions are dangerously high for geopolitics now, and Russia\u2019s dramatic declarations that hacking their satellites would be an act of war highlights just how mission-critical space capabilities are to modern militaries.<\/p>\n<p>All this means that the shroud of mystery around space cybersecurity must be lifted to prioritize and attract a broader range of experts and other stakeholders to the problem. Just about everyone in the modern world is a beneficiary of space services, which means we are potential victims, too. For more details, check out our new report here.<\/p>\n<p><em class=\"Annotation -emphasis\">Patrick Lin, PhD, is the director of the Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group at Cal Poly, where he is a philosophy professor. He also serves on the U.S. National Space Council\u2019s Users\u2019 Advisory Group (UAG) and is affiliated with Stanford Law School, Czech Academy of Sciences, World Economic Forum, and Aurelia Institute. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em class=\"Annotation -emphasis\">Photo: Shutterstock <\/em><\/p>\n<p>,<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"widget-title\">In This Issue<\/h2>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 404677:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"167\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/w40qe8vRH6BDxbC1qoLZ_ED_Note-300x167.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/w40qe8vRH6BDxbC1qoLZ_ED_Note-300x167.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/w40qe8vRH6BDxbC1qoLZ_ED_Note-800x446.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/w40qe8vRH6BDxbC1qoLZ_ED_Note-640x357.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/w40qe8vRH6BDxbC1qoLZ_ED_Note.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tGlobal Consolidation is Changing the Dynamics of the Sector<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3 d-block d-md-none\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 404674:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ryklq2qCQnib9wrtP5Nh_Interoperability_Stock_image-300x225.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ryklq2qCQnib9wrtP5Nh_Interoperability_Stock_image-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ryklq2qCQnib9wrtP5Nh_Interoperability_Stock_image-800x599.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ryklq2qCQnib9wrtP5Nh_Interoperability_Stock_image-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ryklq2qCQnib9wrtP5Nh_Interoperability_Stock_image.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tInteroperability is Critical to the Future of Space<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 404664:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DM9ZrEnRR6lLYV7pwZKb_VS_070124_DGTL_LA-300x225.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DM9ZrEnRR6lLYV7pwZKb_VS_070124_DGTL_LA-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DM9ZrEnRR6lLYV7pwZKb_VS_070124_DGTL_LA-800x599.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DM9ZrEnRR6lLYV7pwZKb_VS_070124_DGTL_LA-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DM9ZrEnRR6lLYV7pwZKb_VS_070124_DGTL_LA.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tLatin America: A Growing Market for Satellite Connectivity Services<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3 d-block d-md-none\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 404667:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Vc1q66nbThmdi65TQEoS_iss045e032242_lrg-300x199.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Vc1q66nbThmdi65TQEoS_iss045e032242_lrg-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Vc1q66nbThmdi65TQEoS_iss045e032242_lrg-800x532.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Vc1q66nbThmdi65TQEoS_iss045e032242_lrg-640x426.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Vc1q66nbThmdi65TQEoS_iss045e032242_lrg.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tThe EO Revolution is Yet to Hit Top Speed Despite its Obvious Potential<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 404661:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/EbFfo5b6QZGdpC976guU_VS_070124_DGTL_2-300x225.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/EbFfo5b6QZGdpC976guU_VS_070124_DGTL_2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/EbFfo5b6QZGdpC976guU_VS_070124_DGTL_2-800x599.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/EbFfo5b6QZGdpC976guU_VS_070124_DGTL_2-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/EbFfo5b6QZGdpC976guU_VS_070124_DGTL_2.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tThe Viasat\/Inmarsat Deal: One Year Out<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3 d-block d-md-none\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently at Cal Poly, we released a 95-page report on outer space cyberattacks, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation. As the first of its kind, it explains not only what is driving this growing problem, but also how to anticipate novel scenarios to avoid being taken by surprise. Here are the 10 top findings [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51065,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51062"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}