As Peter Muend, director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) says, ” Space is getting more and more contested.” As space continues to get more contested commercial assets are becoming more widely depended on by the US government for their intelligence and defense operations. More critically a number of organizations including the Department of Defense have recognized that foreign entities have taken a larger interest in attacking these commercial assets. This is that is becoming all too prevalent in the wake of the war in ukraine.

As these commercial assets begin to come under attack good cyber security practices and good cyber hygiene are becoming increasingly more important. Commercial assets traditionally are a traditionally a weaker link, as they tend to have less of a focus on cyber security and a higher focus on making a profit and keeping their customers happy.

The agreement signed between NGA and NRO and US Space command is an important step in ensuring good space cyber security practices. This agreement is designed to allow for the three organizations to share threat information between the orgs with a particular focus on cyber attacks.