The Risk to Space as Satellite Communications Systems and Ground Networks are Target for Attackers

SANS ICS Security Summit 2023
The risk to Space as Satellite communications systems and ground networks are the new target for attackers
Speaker: Scott Lynch, Certified Instructor, SANS Institute

Satellites provide critical time sensitive information everyday 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and they don’t take vacations. Everything from time critical weather information to global communications and navigation for both the private and military sector. But what if, the systems that provided access to those critical assets was vulnerable to compromise, cyber and physical attack, and exploitation and denial of service? The current industry is valued at over $71Billion USD and projected to grow considerably as reliance on space, GPS and communications systems grows. With the entry of private companies into the space race the explosion of companies big and small that are competing for the opportunity to provide access to space and to benefit mankind has grown exponentially. Along with that, rapid growth, and the desire to cut costs while pushing the boundaries of technology and commercial off the shelf systems have caused security risks to also grow. I will discuss the general state of the industry, taking a critical look the ground station architecture and explore old and new risks as technology continues to push into the space frontier extending humankinds access to new and exciting places. We will explore what the recent supply chain attack against small sat systems in Germany can teach us, as well as a long list of risks identified across both commercial, and government systems. What does the future look like? What new jobs can we see coming from this expansion from ground communications into space and beyond? What kind of training would new space defenders need to be successful at protecting corporate and national assets? These are all questions we as leaders and engineers need to be asking ourselves so we can prepare for the expansion into space, to the moon and beyond.