Space & Cybersecurity Newsletter - July 2021
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
614th Air & Space Communications Squadron redesignated as 65th Cyber Squadron
At Vandenberg Space Force Base, the U.S. Space Force relinquished “command, redesignation, and assumption of command ceremony for the 614th Air and Space Communications Squadron and 65th Cyber Squadron.” This redesignation will allow for the 65th Cyber Squadron (CYS) to assist the Space Delta 6 at Schriever Air Force Base, and will provide access to the $6.8B Air Force Satellite Control Network and “defensive cyberspace capabilities for space mission systems.” The 65th CYS will now defend computer systems and networks used by Space Delta 5 and the Combined Space Operations Center from adversarial cyber attacks.
PERSPECTIVE: How universities can help counter space threats to national security
Despite the barrier that academia has in accessing military related projects given their classified nature, universities possess a talent pool in the evolving space and cyber effort that could assist in counter space threats. Universities are “a key source of advanced technology innovation,” with major projects being fulfilled by graduate level students and staff. With numerous certifications, hands-on experience, and a space focused minor for undergraduates, CU Boulder has demonstrated the ability for universities to contribute to this in demand workforce. Creating this pipeline is an invaluable tool that is yet to be fully tapped into, and can dramatically increase the number of young professionals with training and experience needed to bolster our space workforce
Did the Cybersecurity Workforce Gap Distract Us From the Leak?
While the cyber workforce is already battling a shortage - approximately 500,000 according to an (ISC)² Cybersecurity Workforce Study - retention and development seem to have slipped through the cracks. Whether it’s the stress and burnout due to being under constant pressure, or the “limited promotion and development opportunities,” the cybersecurity workforce is losing talent. The ability to develop and continue training in the cybersecurity field is critical for retaining professionals. A potential solution to this are cybergames, with competitions serving as an engaging and successful way to gain new skills while feeling that the workplace is exciting and dynamic.
INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS
China
China’s success in executing on their space objectives indicates that their momentum will only continue to grow as a space faring nation. This can be seen in the spacewalk completion of two Shenzhou-12 astronauts, and launching 3 data tracking and communication satellites in just 4 days. Alongside these feats, Beijing is developing a super heavy-lift rocket with the aims of constructing a space-based solar power station that will transmit converted energy back to Earth “via microwaves or lasers.” These efforts align with the China’s space administration’s priorities to advance innovation and interplanetary exploration, including a mission that will probe Jupiter, similar to that of the Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter. This intense acceleration in China’s space program raises concern, with China militarizing their space missions and posing significant threats and risks, placing them in a “‘new major force structure that also has control over electronic warfare and cyber” in space.
Japan
Japan seeks to utilize space ports as a means to further utilize the domain and boost their economy, with cabinet officials endorsing an effort to build more spaceports to make make the country “‘Asia’s hub in space business.’” This is a significant space in the “‘nation’s growth strategy,’” as space “‘is still considered to be a niche industry’” in Japan. This endorsement comes just after Japan’s parliament’s passing of legislation that would allow companies to “extract and utilize space resources” so long as they obtain authorization from the Japanese government.
North & South Korea
Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) fell victim to a network breach launched by North Korean linked hackers. KAI holds “confidential rocket propulsion technologies” that will be used in South Korea's space launch vehicle KSLV-2. The information obtained in the breach includes sensitive and confidential information about major South Korean defense missions and items, including the South Korean KF-21 fighter jet, the FA-50 light combat aircraft, and unmanned aircraft and radar.
SOFTWARE, DATA & SPACE CYBERSECURITY
Developing Business Models
As the space sector expands, companies large and small are adopting new business models, including Space Data as a Service, Satellite as a Service, and Ground Station as a Service, which promise the benefits of space without the demands of satellite manufacturing, government regulations, launch integration, or space data delivery. When the computer sector began to offer Software as a Service, users could access software through subscriptions from companies that hosted it online rather than installing it on their own computers or developing their own software for their own company, which decreased the cost of entry to an industry. Defense and intelligence agencies with their own satellite fleets are turning to commercial data services to shift the cost of research and development to the private sector. It shifts risk, too. Military services can more quickly access innovative products, save money by contracting out unclassified work, and address their challenge of retaining technologists. NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS) program is an example of increasing reliance on the commercial space sector as they awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to fund the development of a lunar lander. NASA has previously awarded contracts to 14 commercial service providers as a part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program (CLPS), announced in 2018.
Comments Invited on Draft Space Cybersecurity Report
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is requesting public comments on a draft report introducing cybersecurity standards for crewless, commercial satellite operations. The comment period ends on October 13, 2021, extended from the original August 13 deadline. To view the report, click here.
On National Security | Moving data through space a linchpin of DoD’s strategy for winning wars
Space-based communications are at the core of the new Department of Defense strategy: Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2). The Secretary of Defense signed off on JADC2 which gives the all clear for the branches of the military to begin connecting their platforms and sharing their data. The Space Development Agency (SDA) is creating a constellation of small satellites that will serve as the backbone of JADC2 and allow fast and secure global data-sharing.
Satellite-Based Cloud Computing
CCI director Bill Britton explains that the transition of analog satellites to digital allows for the collection of many types of data, adding that the cloud allows one to use all of that data and make something of it. Britton emphasizes the importance of cybersecurity to protect all of the assets involved in each use case of space. To hear more, click here. Companies such as LEOcloud, Ramon.Space, Leaf Space, and Exodus Orbital seek to create satellite constellations in low Earth orbit to provide “‘low latency, highly secure, high availability’” cloud computing services.
SPACE EXPLORATION
Private companies, funded by government contracts, are touting the idea of space colonization as a utopian, technological solution to Earth realities that colonialism and capitalism have caused. The idea that space is open for the taking simply because “no one is there” finds root in the same logic that justified colonialism on Earth, the view that capitalism’s expansion is inevitable, natural, and never-ending, ignoring the externalities. The language of ‘inevitability of space colonization’ obscures the choice we have to not colonize space at all.
The rocket engine that could transform space travel
Rocket company Ad Astra’s nuclear-electric VASIMR VX-200SS Plasma Rocket completed 88 hours of continuous operation at 80 kilowatts at the company’s Texas laboratory. The test stopped short of its intended duration of 100 hours due to a faulty temperature sensor in the test support equipment. Currently, the most powerful operational electric rocket is 5 kilowatts. Ad Astra CEO and former NASA astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz says that the rocket will “completely transform the way transportation is done.”
EVENTS
The California Cybersecurity Institute’s 2021 California Cyber Innovation Challenge will focus on “Gamification & Esports for Space and Cybersecurity Skills Development.” The event will highlight the convergence of space and cybersecurity and Digital Forensics. The CCIC will be held October 1-3, 2021.
Now in its 24th year, Black Hat USA is excited to present a unique hybrid event experience, offering the cybersecurity community a choice in how they wish to participate. Black Hat USA 2021 will open with four days of Virtual Trainings (July 31-August 3) conducted in real-time online, with all instructors accessible throughout each class. The two-day main conference (August 4-5) featuring Briefings, Arsenal, Business Hall, and more will be a hybrid event—offering both a Virtual (online) Event and a Live, In-Person Event in Las Vegas.
Aerospace Village @ DEF CON 29
Join us in-person & virtually at Def Con 29, August 6-7. Talks will be streamed online and in-person workshop/activities hosted 10:00 am – 4:00 pm at Paris Las Vegas.
For the first time in our nearly 40 years of gathering the world’s space community, the annual Space Symposium set for August 23-26, 2021, at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, will be a hybrid in-person/virtual program. Registrants for the hybrid program will be able to see, hear and engage with the presentations, panels, awards and programming that will unfold at this year’s program.
This year’s Hack-A-Sat competition culminates in an attack/defend style Capture the Flag Event from September 17, 6 pm to September 19, 6 pm EDT where the qualifying round’s top eight teams will show down, defending their satellite system while employing offensive measures on their opponent’s systems. This round of the competition is designed to blur the lines between The Good and The Bad, and to focus all the best minds on creating a Cyber-Secure universe.
2021 Global Satellite Servicing Forum
The 4th Annual Global Satellite Servicing Forum will convene in online/virtual format. A mix of panels, keynotes, breakout sessions, and lightning talks will cover a wide range of topics and development in on-orbit satellite servicing and maintenance capabilities, including manufacturing and assembly. The GSSF 2021 will take place September 29-30th from 9 am to 1 pm, EST.
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