Infosecurity Magazine
11/22/23
James Coker
Problem – There is a growing threat from nation-state cyber attacks on satellites. At the same time, these satellite designs rely on 3rd party components. Introducing a compromised component into the spacecraft design can open up a vulnerability with serious consequences (e.g., cause the satellite to become inoperable, held ransom, unauthorized access to data). This problem is especially relevant to a spacecraft due to the inability to physically access the satellite at (e.g.) 500km altitude and in constant motion.
Solution – As the system is designed, ensure that components are provided by a trusted supplier and inspect. If a component is introduced into the design and spacecraft is on orbit, the next best action is to use artificial intelligence to monitor the spacecraft for anomalies and respond quickly to attacks. With AI this can be done much more quickly than a human could respond.