Cybersecurity Risk Assessment for Space Systems

Abstract

When considering critical infrastructure, we rarely consider the enabling technology and systems that realize such infrastructure; such as, agribusiness' reliance on weather and climate satellites, the U.S. military's reliance on intelligence satellites, and various transportation industries' reliance on global positioning system (GPS) satellites. Most of the world's critical infrastructure relies on space systems. While there is considerable effort to improve the cybersecurity of the critical infrastructure, there is less focus on cybersecurity for space systems. Challenges to secure space systems included technology development, ownership, and management perspective. This limits guidance in the form of standards that govern space system security and, ultimately, policies that enforce these standards.