Satellites are the backbone of our daily lives and this makes them an increasingly attractive target for cyber hackers, according to Hiscox Global Insights.
A new insight post said, “We rely on satellites for just about everything in our everyday lives. That dependence is only set to grow, as thousands more satellites are launched to enable ‘industry 4.0’, a fourth industrial revolution in which smart systems control autonomous robots, machines and vehicles and everyone in the world has access to high-speed broadband.”
The new digital economy offers rich pickings for cyber criminals – estimated to cost the global economy about $1tn annually and rising. But whereas the companies and government agencies that provide the critical infrastructure have responded to this growing threat by beefing up their defences, the cyber security of the satellite system on which they depend lags behind – exposing a critical weakness the space industry needs to address.
The satellite system is cyber security’s soft underbelly. It offers the opportunity to create maximum disruption for minimum effort – every cyber criminals’ dream.
The problem is that security wasn’t really considered an issue with satellites. Back in the early days of space exploration, only a handful of countries could afford to send up satellites. Their design, construction and launch were often shrouded in secrecy; once up in orbit, away from prying eyes, their missions were simple: relaying signals to and from ground stations in line with their purpose.
But the space industry is completely different now and space/industry 4.0 will be powered by thousands of small, smart satellites in low-Earth orbit. New space companies have used commercial off-the-shelf parts and free, opensource software to build a new generation of cheap, mass-produced satellites, known as CubeSats.
The opensource software on which CubeSats rely is also vulnerable. Anyone has access to it, meaning hackers can analyse it to discover any flaws. Everyone is free to contribute code, so they can even plant backdoors in it that they can exploit in space. Also, like any computer programme, they need to be regularly updated.
Hiscox London Market space underwriter Heike Bienvenu said, “Today, there is more data than ever passing between satellites and Earth, while the scope for attack has vastly increased. Even worse, there are no common cyber security standards within the space industry.”
She said, “There are few guidelines and even fewer requirements in space, which is one of its attractions to entrepreneurs, but also its biggest pitfall.”
A first step is for cyber security to become a priority, rather than an afterthought in the space industry. All satellite data should be encrypted, where possible. The space industry should also become more transparent, by sharing information on new threats and vulnerabilities, like a new type of malware. M