5-minute read | 850 words
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Space cybersecurity starts on the ground.
Host Maria Varmazis speaks with Milenk Starcevic, cybersecurity lead at Vision Space, and Andrzej “Andy” Olchawa, a space-focused offensive security professional, on how modern space missions function and the cybersecurity challenges that come with them. Theyexplore why ground infrastructure presents a significant attack surface, how conventional vulnerabilities intersect with space systems, and why compromise can have dramatically different outcomes depending on what part of the mission it impacts.
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Space cybersecurity is bigger than the satellite.
This week on T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing: we dive into how securing the ground components of space infrastructure represent as great of a challenge as securing the ones already in-orbit.
Does this newsletter spark questions for you? Write to us at space@n2k.com to guide how we’ll continue to explore terrestrial cybersecurity in future podcast episodes and newsletter issues.
The ground link.
When discussing space cybersecurity, the conversation often centers around securing assets in space, many of which are essential to everyday operations. While that piece of the puzzle is critical, it represents only one portion of the space ecosystem.
Ground systems are just as important to functional space operations as the in-orbit infrastructure. Ground stations, software repositories, cloud systems, mission-control infrastructure, and other components work together to ensure that space missions and ongoing operations remain functional and secure.
This reality also means that the attack surface for a space mission extends well beyond the spacecraft itself.
In 2022, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published “Satellite Ground Segment: Applying the Cybersecurity Framework to Satellite Command and Control.” The report emphasized the inherent risks found in the space cyber ecosystem and looked to apply the NIST Cybersecurity Framework to the ground segment of space operations. One of the specific goals was to ensure that ground systems were properly protected to verify the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of critical functions and retain or recover control of space vehicles.
NASA echoed the importance of terrestrial space cybersecurity after publishing its Ground Data Systems and Mission Operations guide. NASA outlined how cybersecurity needs to address all mission elements, including ground segments, supporting services, and flight platform operations. The agency also identified the end-to-end command path as a potential pathway through which a remote adversary could compromise and manipulate external dependencies.
The importance of the ground segment also means that not every space-focused cyberattack will have the same consequences. The potential impact of a compromise depends heavily on where an attacker gains access within the broader mission architecture. A breach of one system may have little or no direct effect on a spacecraft, while access to another could give an attacker a path toward influencing space operations.
The scope of space breaches.
When an attacker successfully compromises terrestrial space infrastructure, the impacts can be far-reaching and dramatically different depending on what the attacker targets. If the attacker compromises a web server, they could spread malware. If they target a mission-control system, they could compromise control and send unauthorized commands to spacecraft.
This distinction highlights the important part of space cybersecurity that understanding the connections between systems is just as important as securing them. Space missions often rely on familiar technologies; however, those technologies can be utilized for entirely different purposes within this context and carry dramatically different impacts if compromised.
For cybersecurity to become more effective in space, practitioners and stakeholders need to understand this distinction and work to implement controls that address these gaps. Frameworks, such as NIST’s or NASA’s, can provide security leaders with the context needed to identify these relationships, assess their risks, and determine where additional security could be needed.
Ultimately, securing space infrastructure does not stop at the edge of the atmosphere. The systems on the ground are just as important to the mission and protecting them is critical for ongoing operations.
This week’s space-cyber headlines.
The news stories we’re reading and thinking about this week.
UK launches its first 'space squadron' to counter hostile threats.
- The UK is launching a new space squadron that will be tasked with defending the nation’s space satellites from “hostile action.”
- This will be the first British military unit dedicated to seeking out and attacking hostile space threats.
- Listen to Maria’s coverage of the story on the CyberWire Daily.
September 23, 2026 | Source: The National News
SDA misses self-imposed deadline on orbital mesh network.
- The Space Development Agency (SDA) missed another deadline in its efforts to create a satellite-to-satellite data relay network.
- The delay is now over a year long with initial work not expected to start for at least another three months.
September 16, 2026 | Source: Breaking Defense
GCF and MSSA Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Advance Global NTN Certification and Interoperability.
- The Global Certification Forum (GCF) and Mobile Satellite Service Association (MSSA) announced their new Memorandum of Understanding that will formalize their cooperation for supporting and promoting standards-based satellite communications technologies.
- The two groups will focus on 3GPP Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) standards, including direct-to-device, NTN 5G NR, and NTN NB-IoT services.
September 24, 2026 | Source: MSSA
