During an interview with Help Net Security, Deloitte Space leader, Brett Loubert, warned of aging satellite cybersecurity attacks, as legacy systems lack modern defenses, exposing global communication, defense, and weather data networks.
Brett Loubert revealed that hackers targeting government and commercial ground stations, where a single breach can compromise entire networks.
Deloitte’s space leader urged encryption, real-time threat detection, and zero-trust models to secure the $386 billion space infrastructure.
Much operational infrastructure was designed before cybersecurity became a key factor, leaving it highly susceptible to modern threats. Meanwhile, large constellations of small, low-cost satellites are expanding attack surfaces and complicating defense.
Are Satellites Vulnerable to Attack?
Satellites operate like computers in space.
Typically, a satellite computer system in space runs legacy code on limited hardware, creating difficult modern defense upgrades. Power, memory, and storage are usually limited, especially in older or smaller satellites.
“These heritage satellites are still undertaking critical missions, but they were designed at a time when cybersecurity capabilities were not pervasive,” Loubert said.
Real-world attacks reveal the risks.
Recent years have seen hackers target satellite communications used by governments and companies, exposing any cyber satellite security vulnerability of modern space operations.
Ground infrastructure is also exposed.
A malware infection or phishing email at a control station can grant access to space assets. Once inside, attackers can move laterally into command systems, risking data breaches or operational sabotage.
How to Protect Satellites from Cyber Attacks
To counter threats, Loubert proposes a comprehensive satellite cybersecurity system covering five key areas:
- space segment aka satellites
- ground stations
- uplink/downlink signals
- user devices
- launch infrastructure
The issue is that when a segment is breached, the entire network can be affected.
Most of the space assets are in the realm of cyber physical systems where digital and mechanical components are inseparable. That makes traditional IT solutions irrelevant, especially for satellite limited defense platforms that cannot accommodate modern endpoint security measures.
To build resilience, Loubert suggests a defense-in-depth strategy: encryption of communications, threat detection in real time, system segmentation, and secure containers. Therefore, cybersecure satellite architecture must be adopted, especially as zero trust models become more widely accepted.
A fundamental vulnerability remains in the shared software and firmware reused across satellite platforms.
A single compromised update can breach multiple systems, especially in tightly coupled satellite constellation security. Guaranteeing software integrity and supply chain trust is now pivotal to preventing cyber satellite vulnerability.
“Unlike any other domain, there are no operations in space without the cyber domain,” Loubert stated.
For Loubert, cyber awareness is a must and should be infused into every element of space operation. Treating every operator as a cyber-safe satellite factor is possibly the best space defense industry as threats evolve.
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