What Are the Concerns of Outer Space Hacking?

Our world now relies on satellites to function properly: they’re used to track our weather, monitor our oceans and land, help us get from one location to another with GPS, allow us to make international phone calls, and many more functions. They’re also used to monitor the sun, asteroids, and various planets, and to explore outer space.

Therefore, it’s very concerning if these satellites can become hacked — false information could be transmitted, entire satellite systems could be shut down, or valuable data of all types could be stolen. That means that satellite hacking, in the future, could potentially affect billions of people, depending on how large a cyberattack is. It certainly extends far beyond sensitive information on space explorations.

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NASA’s Concern with Space Hacking

That’s why NASA has grown increasingly concerned with space hacking — specifically satellite hacking. NASA gathers a lot of valuable data from space explorations — data which could easily be stolen, due to NASA’s aging computer system. Although efforts are made to secure this data, it is still not as secure as it could be.

As mentioned, much more than data from space explorations is at stake. In NASA’s case, they must maintain the security of their email system, scientific data, and their control systems at various labs and research centers. There is also a big concern for data transmissions being intercepted, whether by a certain company or else by a country. Either way, space hacking would be an act of cyber warfare — and it could come with much more severe consequences than stolen data.

Making Efforts to Improve Cybersecurity

In an effort to decrease their risk of hacking, NASA is working on improving its cybersecurity efforts over the next year or two. This is a crucial move, especially since NASA reported nearly 1,500 cases of cyber attacks in 2016. They are currently working on analyzing their systems to catch any vulnerabilities and quickly patch any issues.

Still, it’s not enough — all organizations and companies dedicated to launching satellites and exploring space should be more concerned with the security of their equipment than how quickly they can launch it. Plus, spending more time on testing equipment should help to reduce or eliminate costly space failures.

One way to improve cybersecurity in space is to use a quantum communications satellite. China launched this type of satellite last year. According to cybersecurity experts, this type of satellite is virtually hack-proof.