Cybercrime Moves Out of Our World! Now the Moon Wants Protection
The attack surface on earth will only expand in the future with phones and devices equipped with satellite messaging capabilities
The satellites, otherwise known as ‘bent pipes in space’ make for a crucial network for terrestrial and extra-terrestrial communication. Hijacking one such satellite would send the communication systems into a tizzy. Is cybercrime of this scale really possible? Or is it just a cinematic imagination? When India’s Chandrayan mission-2 was disrupted, cyber experts suspected North Korean involvement in disrupting the project with malware breaching into master “domain controllers” at the nuclear plant in south India and ISRO, giving access to the server computer to steal data. Russia’s space missions too were victims of suspicious cyberattacks. Starting in 1996, when its Mars 96 lander went up in flames, to the failure of its Phobos-Grunt’s launch, carrying Chinese probe Yinghuo-1 Russian space system was a haven for security flaws. Though official reports do not mention the possibility of hacking, experts thought that it has major security flaws and makes for a case for malicious cybercrime.
Why has it become so easy to hack space systems:
The space systems earlier were largely isolated from the terrestrial system and catered to a different set of users. In recent years, space technology being leveraged for every other utility on earth from agriculture to the healthcare industry, it has gained a lot of complexity with interconnected systems. The attack surface on earth will only expand in the future with phones and devices equipped with satellite messaging capabilities, redefining the traditional trust boundaries and expanding the network of partners, customers, etc. Satellites though appear like heavenly objects, the control system lies on the earth and is a cluster of devices connected by the internet (IoT), hacking into the network system is enough to disrupt its operation. “They’re snazzy, they’re wild, it’s spaaaaace, but they’re IoT devices,” said Bill Malik, VP of Infrastructure Strategies at Cybersecurity firm, Trend Micro. Compared to 2020, over 1,300 new satellites were put into orbit last year alone, which is five times as many as in 2019. The growing number of satellites will only put space systems at peril as more data is collected and transmitted via these satellites, attracting attention from cyber actors. And, if we assume cybercrime would be limited to governmental and defense organizations, it would be the biggest blunder. Rising private players in outer space, such as SpaceX, Blue Origin LLC, and Orbital Sciences Corp, more players with commercial interests would foray into outer space technology, spiking the competition for good or rather for worse. When the Apollo mission was launched, we were sure about our destination i.e., the moon. Now that space technology is thrown open for private parties, to travel and vie for ownership, it might end up as the wild west of territorial fights.
The way forward
The space domain, which until recently had a slow rate of growth, has picked up a tremendous pace, largely because of interest shown by the private players, necessitating upgrading security systems at a quicker pace. In the age of IT/OT convergence, having watertight cyber practices has become more crucial than upgrading the overall system itself. As long as the private interests of large commercial players are involved, the existing laws will not give any hope either. The rush for space supremacy will only get intense in the coming years, and as the history of the internet demonstrates, Governments and security agencies will not take any major step of inevitable consequence until there is a massive hack of satellites.
The post Cybercrime Moves Out of Our World! Now the Moon Wants Protection appeared first on .
The attack surface on earth will only expand in the future with phones and devices equipped with satellite messaging capabilities
The satellites, otherwise known as ‘bent pipes in space’ make for a crucial network for terrestrial and extra-terrestrial communication. Hijacking one such satellite would send the communication systems into a tizzy. Is cybercrime of this scale really possible? Or is it just a cinematic imagination? When India’s Chandrayan mission-2 was disrupted, cyber experts suspected North Korean involvement in disrupting the project with malware breaching into master “domain controllers” at the nuclear plant in south India and ISRO, giving access to the server computer to steal data. Russia’s space missions too were victims of suspicious cyberattacks. Starting in 1996, when its Mars 96 lander went up in flames, to the failure of its Phobos-Grunt’s launch, carrying Chinese probe Yinghuo-1 Russian space system was a haven for security flaws. Though official reports do not mention the possibility of hacking, experts thought that it has major security flaws and makes for a case for malicious cybercrime.
Why has it become so easy to hack space systems:
The space systems earlier were largely isolated from the terrestrial system and catered to a different set of users. In recent years, space technology being leveraged for every other utility on earth from agriculture to the healthcare industry, it has gained a lot of complexity with interconnected systems. The attack surface on earth will only expand in the future with phones and devices equipped with satellite messaging capabilities, redefining the traditional trust boundaries and expanding the network of partners, customers, etc. Satellites though appear like heavenly objects, the control system lies on the earth and is a cluster of devices connected by the internet (IoT), hacking into the network system is enough to disrupt its operation. “They’re snazzy, they’re wild, it’s spaaaaace, but they’re IoT devices,” said Bill Malik, VP of Infrastructure Strategies at Cybersecurity firm, Trend Micro. Compared to 2020, over 1,300 new satellites were put into orbit last year alone, which is five times as many as in 2019. The growing number of satellites will only put space systems at peril as more data is collected and transmitted via these satellites, attracting attention from cyber actors. And, if we assume cybercrime would be limited to governmental and defense organizations, it would be the biggest blunder. Rising private players in outer space, such as SpaceX, Blue Origin LLC, and Orbital Sciences Corp, more players with commercial interests would foray into outer space technology, spiking the competition for good or rather for worse. When the Apollo mission was launched, we were sure about our destination i.e., the moon. Now that space technology is thrown open for private parties, to travel and vie for ownership, it might end up as the wild west of territorial fights.
The way forward
The space domain, which until recently had a slow rate of growth, has picked up a tremendous pace, largely because of interest shown by the private players, necessitating upgrading security systems at a quicker pace. In the age of IT/OT convergence, having watertight cyber practices has become more crucial than upgrading the overall system itself. As long as the private interests of large commercial players are involved, the existing laws will not give any hope either. The rush for space supremacy will only get intense in the coming years, and as the history of the internet demonstrates, Governments and security agencies will not take any major step of inevitable consequence until there is a massive hack of satellites.
The post Cybercrime Moves Out of Our World! Now the Moon Wants Protection appeared first on .
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