Officials plan for new age of cyber threats to satellites

Posted under: Online Security
Date: 2024-03-27
Officials plan for new age of cyber threats to satellites

Russia's push to put an anti-satellite nuclear weapon in space has raised concerns in Washington, but cyberattacks could damage satellites with less effort. Hackers can upload malware to satellite terminals, giving them control of devices, shutting them down, or cutting off communication with the ground. A widespread attack against satellites could take down everything from GPS navigation to text message services to weather forecasting, and hackers could achieve that without a vast budget or years of expertise. There were no global treaties banning cyberattacks on satellites and other space systems, as there are for deploying nuclear weapons in space. Russia is among the nations already weighing this possibility. Satellites and other space systems are operated from various networks, all vulnerable to attacks. A breach anywhere in the supply chain of products that support satellites could be catastrophic.

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