Cyber threats pose a significant and complex challenge due to the absence of warning, the speed of an attack by an adversary, the difficulty of attribution, and the complexities associated with carrying out a proportionate response. Space systems face many well-known types of attack, including orbital, kinetic, and electronic warfare, but are also vulnerable to other forms of cyber threat. Applying defense-in-depth principles throughout each segment is imperative to defending our space assets.

Cyberattacks can occur across multiple segments within the architecture — space, link, and ground — and space systems are often overlooked in wider discussions of cyber threats to critical infrastructure. All critical national space systems must be appropriately hardened against cyber threats; forgoing preventative measures is not an option.