Space Systems Security Assessment
A holistic framework for analysis
The development of space systems has historically focused on safety rather than security. However, these attitudes are changing, amid a wave of evidence that the security of space systems is increasingly under threat from a range of threat actors. There is a growing recognition that malicious action could damage or disrupt space systems in a way that fundamentally threatens the operation of today’s digital world.
This report is intended as a primer for non-specialist readers with an introduction to the breadth of threats to the security of space systems, based on each stage of the space supply chain: design, manufacturing, launch, operation, and application of space systems. For people working or investing in this sector, this report will provide a broad view – showing how their area of expertise relates to other areas of risk across the life of the system and across the range of threat vectors.
Executive Summary
Assessing the security of space systems requires a holistic approach covering the full spectrum of threats, across all segments of the space system, and from the design phase to applications.
The rapid expansion of the space sector is drawing attention to the vulnerabilities of existing systems and introducing new ones for adversaries to exploit.
As the space sector is becoming more open, growing familiarity with space systems is raising awareness of vulnerabilities and threats shared with terrestrial systems.
There will remain areas in which space systems remain highly idiosyncratic with comparison to other systems.
Evolving international collaboration on data sharing and security standards between some states may facilitate better understanding of physical and cyber threats.
However, intensifying geopolitical competition and conflict mean that the threat to space-based systems will remain elevated for the foreseeable future.
This is an excerpt. To read more, download the full report.
Report author Jessie Hamill-Stewart discussed these issues in an article for The Conversation, available here.
This report was authored by Jessie Hamill-Stewart and Neil Ashdown, for Tyburn St Raphael. Jessie Hamill-Stewart is a PhD student at the Institute for Digital Security and Behaviour (IDSB), University of Bath. Neil Ashdown is the head of research at Tyburn St Raphael.
