Space & Cybersecurity Newsletter - February 2021
WELCOME BACK, SURVEY & PERSEVERANCE CONGRATS
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February 2021 marks our sixth month sharing space and cybersecurity news with our wonderful community. The CCI Team would like to extend our gratitude to you for supporting this endeavor. This month, we ask for your help filling out this survey so that we can tailor our content to best fit your needs. Thank you for your participation and continued readership!
Touchdown! NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover Safely Lands on Red Planet
After traveling 293 million miles over the course of 203 days, NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover successfully touched down at Jezero Crater on Mars on February 18th, 2021. The rover launched from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and will be used to collect Mars samples to be returned to earth in the 2020s or early 2030s.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
On February 4, 2021, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced a six-month extension of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Supply Chain Risk Management Task Force. The Task Force is a public-private partnership with the goal of identifying vulnerabilities and creating workable solutions for managing risks in the global ICT supply chain. Bobby Kolasky, CISA Assistant Director and Task Force Co-Chair says that the extension of the Task Force charter ensures that it has the support necessary to address unique contemporary challenges.
“Space will be the dominant economy in the next 20 or 30 years”
Entrepreneurs, scientists, and other stakeholders participated in Israeli Space Week in an online format between January 24 and January 28 this year. Discussions included the need for diverse non-technical positions in the space industry, global collaboration, and the reciprocal relationship between the public and private sectors. The space economy is expected to become a $1-$3 trillion industry within this decade.
The CCI is proud to announce a new partnership with Cal Poly Extended Education, UpSkill California, and California’s Employment Training Panel (ETP) to deliver cybersecurity and cloud skills training from Amazon Web Services (AWS) to upskill and reskill the current and future workforce of California through training collaborations, targeting communities and corporations across the state. To get learn more or enroll in training courses, click here.
LEGAL RULES & UPDATES
DoD Faces Tough Decisions On Space Rules
The Department of Defense has stated a commitment to work for deterrence of aggression in space and overall responsible behavior. They may be forced to clarify these positions due to Britain’s sponsorship of a UN resolution regarding both what milspace actions by others they see as threatening and what they consider to be acceptable during peacetime. Responses are due from member nations by May, and the UK is expected to push for a more formal UN process to establish ‘hard security’ norms as well.
"House Armed Services Reorg Looks to Increase
Focus on Cybersecurity, Intelligence"
The House Armed Services Committee recently dissolved the Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities subcommittee and introduced two subcommittees: the Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems (CITI) subcommittee and the Intelligence and Special Operations subcommittee. The goal of this restructuring is to increase focus on and more effectively allocate resources to the oversight of both intelligence and cybersecurity. The CITI subcommittee’s jurisdiction will include cybersecurity, operations, and forces; information technology, systems, and operations; science and technology programs and policy; defense-wide research and development (except missile defense and space); artificial intelligence policy and programs; electromagnetic spectrum policy; electronic warfare policy; and computer software acquisition policy.
SPACE & CYBER SYSTEMS
Does SolarWinds change the rules in offensive cyber? Experts say no, but offer alternatives
Following the malware attack on SolarWinds’ Orion software used by over 30,000 federal civilian employees, the question as to what the private sector can do in regards to a cyber offensive operation arises. International law seems to deem it illegal, with the line being drawn between offensive and proactive approaches. Another alternative to launching offensive operations would be that of establishing tech boundaries; private companies can create additional layers to their tech infrastructure, reducing an incident’s blast radius and limiting the spread of an attack on business functions. No matter the approach, private companies will be up against nation-state actors and adversarial governments, which may be enough to deter a private actor from attempting to launch cyber operations in response to these attacks.
China’s surging private space industry is out to challenge the US
While the US space industry is progressing as a world leader in space, China has demonstrated that they are not far behind with their private space industry experiencing a boom of its own. China’s space industry has begun adopting more American business practices, embracing startup culture and innovating for the purpose of growing the industry, opposed to national pride and a sense of duty. China still has looming challenges ahead, including establishing a legal framework around this booming industry and fostering collaborative relationships in space.
SpaceX plans Starlink phone service, emergency backup, and low-income access
Starlink, which already has 10,000 users in the US and abroad, plans on rolling out a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service with hopes of being able to provide a subsidy for low-income households to get broadband. In tandem with this VoIP service, Starlink would “sell a 24-hour battery backup to customers who want it.”
GPS & COMMUNICATIONS SECURITY
Latest Starlink Satellites Equipped with Laser Communications, Musk Confirms
Starting with the Stalink satellites launched on January 24th, 2021, all satellites moving forward will be equipped with “laser inter-satellite links.” This laser communication will be more secure than Radio Frequency (RF) terminals, as RF terminals are susceptible to being jammed. This technology also “lessens the burden on ground infrastructure,” as the data transmitted between Starlink’s satellites in Low-Earth Orbit constellations can now be transmitted within the same plane.
Space Cybersecurity: How Lessons Learned on Earth Apply in Orbit
Recalling the explorations of ancient and classical times “who traveled to find new worlds across the continents and oceans,” the importance of discovering the unknown is matched with the desire to expand trade and commerce; this is mirrored by today’s push for space exploration. Using these examples, cybersecurity in space is of utmost importance. “Poor cybersecurity practices will sink the ship, both here on Earth and in space. Poor land-based cybersecurity will result in your standard issues: loss of intellectual property, disruption of operations and compromised devices.“ The success of integrating strong cybersecurity practices at the beginning of this new era is foundational to the success of being “able to invest in our valuable resources more wisely in the future.”
EVENTS
The CubeSat Developer’s Workshop is an annual conference hosted by the Cal Poly CubeSat Laboratory at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. More than 500 industry professionals, small satellite developer’s and students come together for two to three days of presentations, networking events and more. The virtual conference will take place from April 27th to April 29th this year. Follow the headline link to register or learn more.
THANK YOU
Thank you for coming to us here at the CCI for your space and cyber-related news. We welcome any feedback you may have. We will see you next month, and don’t forget to keep up on your own cyber hygiene.
Until next time,
The CCI Team
Contact us at:
cci@calpoly.edu