The expanding cybersecurity challenge in space.
Earth’s expanding attack surface.
Host Maria Varmazis continues her conversation with Vision Space’s Milenk Starcevic, Head of Cybersecurity, and Andrzej “Andy” Olchawa, Senior Cybersecurity Engineer. They focus on how the barriers to entry are lower to learn about space systems and how the definition of “space cybersecurity” is expanding.
Subscribe and listen to the conversation now.
Moving beyond the satellite.
_This week on T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing: we continue last week’s exploration of the terrestrial attack surface to look deeper at how space infrastructure has steadily evolved to become infrastructure for everyone.
Does this newsletter spark questions for you? Write to us at space@n2k.com to guide ho w we’ll continue to explore space’s evolving attack surface in future podcast episodes and newsletter issues.
Expanding the space attack surface.
For many years, the concept of space’s attack surface largely centered on spacecraft, ground stations, and the systems supporting them. Though these systems are still critical in the modern space ecosystem, they represent only part of an increasingly complex infrastructure. Today, space’s infrastructure includes larger constellations, orbital data centers, direct-to-device satellite connectivity, and potentially, in the coming years, infrastructure on the Moon. As more devices, spacecraft, systems, and people become dependent on space-based infrastructure, the potential impact of cyber events will grow.
Given this reality, the definition of “space cybersecurity” needs to expand. Protecting spacecraft is only one part of the challenge. Security professionals will increasingly need to consider the broader ecosystem supporting space missions. Ground infrastructure, mission-control systems, software communications networks, cloud environments, and other supporting technologies can all become part of a mission’s security perimeter. For existing and new professionals, effective cybersecurity operations need to account for all of these components. By understanding the entire space mission, professionals can better understand where vulnerabilities can exist and how attackers can exploit them.
Growing effective cyber capabilities.
As the space cybersecurity field grows, professionals will need to keep pace by expanding their understanding of space infrastructure and complementary skills sets. While testing and offensive security will be a part of this process, a substantial part of this work will also involve compliance, auditing, and testing systems against increasingly sophisticated security requirements.
This dynamic creates an interesting challenge for both existing and new space cybersecurity professionals. Understanding cybersecurity fundamentals is only one part of this development. Professionals also need to understand how space systems operate and how they connect to different components of a mission.
One of the strongest tools existing and new professionals alike can use to develop the skills is through hands-on opportunities. For example, Hack The Box crafted nine challenges focusing on a variety of topics, from antenna pointing to ground station breaches to scalped platforms. These types of exercises give cybersecurity professionals a practical way to build familiarity with space systems before applying those skills to real-world missions.
As the dependency for space systems only continues to grow, so too will the potential consequences of a cyberattack or outage. Disruptions will likely continue to expand in scope and impact as the interconnectedness grows. By growing capabilities in the workforce now, stakeholders can secure the systems that are only a few short years from reality.
This week’s space-cyber headlines.
The news stories we’re reading and thinking about this week.
SpaceX’s Starship returns early to Earth after reaching orbit for the first time.
- SpaceX’s starship successfully reached orbit for the first time and delivered the newest Starlink models.
- The flight controllers brought the shuttle back early instead of completing the originally planned six full laps around Earth.
- Listen to Maria’s coverage of the story on the CyberWire Daily.
September 28, 2026 | Source: AP News
FCC Takes Action That Brings Thousands of Megahertz of Spectrum into the Marketplace.
- The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted new rules that will open up more spectrum space for greater next-generation connectivity.
- The FCC unlocked over 1,000 megahertz of spectrum in the 12 GHz and 42 GHz bands for a range of connectivity services.
September 30, 2026 | Source: FCC
ESA investigates potential future European-led orbital outpost.
- The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded a contract to two European industrial consortia to assess the feasibility for developing and deploying a European-led orbital outpost.
- These studies are a part of a larger effort by the ESA to explore options in the post-International Space Station era.
September 29, 2026 | Source: ESA
367,000-Ship Study Finds Global GPS Spoofing, Red Sea Activity Before Grounding.
- Researchers found 31 persistent areas of abnormal GPS activity, with at least 22 showing strong evidence of large-area spoofing.
- The researchers searched for groups of independent vessels reporting physically implausible movements in the same place and at similar times which led to an identified 17,936 abnormal episodes involving 2,663 vessels from data collected from late November 2024 to early February 2025.
October 2, 2026 | Source: Hack Read
