From agricultural uses to communications, space has become an integral part of our everyday lives. The United States operates about 900 satellites on orbit, out of some 2000+, more than any other country. Commensurately, our satellite defense capabilities should be just as paramount.

Used primarily for commercial uses, satellites were not meant to withstand cyber attacks, since it is not meant to use . Additionally, hacking a satellite is not difficult, which creates serious implications on our everyday lives, from health care systems to our economy. Attacks on US space assets are bound to happen, it is simply a matter of when.

According to the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA), designating the US Space Systems as a critical infrastructure would allow the government, several organizations, and space companies to enhance the space sector’s resilience. Our main adversaries in space, China and Russia, have the potential to take our satellites offline and cause irreparable damage to our assets in space. It is of the upmost priority that our space systems cybersecurity protection are enhanced and resilient. Therefore, designating the space sector as the 17th critical infrastructure sector would alert our adversaries that we are committed to the protection of our space infrastructure as well as determine the government agencies’s role and responsibilities in establishing a critical infrastructure’s safety.

Links:

https://www.insaonline.org/designating-space-systems-as-new-u-s-critical-infrastructure-sector/

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: U.S. Satellite Dependency