While AI has dominated global markets, outer space is also emerging as a critical frontier for technological and economic influence. Several companies are investing in the construction of data centres designed to operate in space – a clear indication that a reliance on secure space assets, particularly satellites, cannot be overstated, says Dr Bianca Lins, legal officer and lead, space department, at the Liechtenstein Office for Communications.
Dr Lins is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the 20th annual ITWeb Security Summit 2025 on 3 June at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg.
In the lead-up to her presentation, Dr Lins provides a brief synopsis of her topic: “This keynote explores these urgent issues, paving the way for a discussion on the strategies, policies and frameworks that can safeguard the space assets underpinning our digital and interconnected world.”
Speaking to ITWeb ahead of the summit, Dr Lins says most people are still not aware of the fact that communication today is all about space – and especially satellites.
“Without satellites, our world, our economies, our societies would simply stop functioning. Every time we look up into the night sky and see these fast-moving dots, it is very important to remember we are not just seeing the technology, we are seeing the infrastructure, the invisible backbone that powers so much of our daily lives.”
This backbone supports a range of use cases – from GPS navigation to air, water and rail traffic management, from tracking extreme weather phenomena to synchronised trading across global stock markets.
And cyber security is now inextricably linked to space asset management.
Secure space
Dr Lins says there is a tightly interwoven relationship between space security and cyber security, noting that cyber operations often depend on satellite infrastructure, while satellites themselves are built on and controlled through digital systems.
“For a long time, cyber security was generally not considered and certainly not prioritised for space systems. A lot of system operators and manufacturers not only thought – but even insisted – that their protocols would be too complicated and obscure to crack… a kind of ‘security through obscurity approach’. But with us moving into the digital age, space assets also became much more digitised.”
This means the space industry is just as vulnerable to cyber attacks as any other, says Dr Lins, who references the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine as context and an example.
“The first thing that happened was not the physical invasion; what happened was a hack of a VIASAT KSAT satellite to disrupt communication capabilities. This was actually a commercial satellite, also used by the military and armed forces of Ukraine. The attack caused significant collateral damage to civilian infrastructure. For instance, more than 5 800 wind turbines in Germany came to a complete standstill as a direct result of the disruption – because their control systems relied on that very satellite for communication. Many operators only realised this dependency after the systems had already gone offline,” Dr Lins adds.
Cyber security risk mitigation
While space is no different from any other industry regarding susceptibility to cyber attacks, it is an exception regarding cyber security risk mitigation, says Dr Lins.
This is particularly relevant for businesses that operate as service and solution providers within the space industry.
“Mitigating cyber security risks is particularly challenging in this context – not only because different industry sectors may share the same critical vulnerability, such as a single point of failure in satellite infrastructure (as seen with the wind turbines), but also due to the absence of consistent cyber security standards and regulatory frameworks. The complexity is further heightened by the structure of the supply chain: many operators rely on commercial off-the-shelf technologies, often integrated without thorough security vetting or alignment with sector-specific resilience requirements.”
The main message from Dr Lins is clear: whether an organisation is directly involved with the space industry or not, the risks and dependencies associated with space infrastructure concern everyone. She emphasises that business leaders must understand where their organisations do touch base with satellite-based services – be it in communication, navigation, logistics or data management – and where there could be a risk or potential vulnerabilities for them and their businesses.
Beyond this, Dr Lins highlights a critical aspect that underscores the broader relevance of her message: the growing interdependence between space infrastructure and cyber capabilities.
“It creates both a strength and a vulnerability because we are more connected than ever, but also it means that we are more exposed. There is a direct link between resilient space infrastructure and how we respond to cyber incidents on earth. On the one hand, satellite-based systems – such as communications, earth observation and global navigation – play a pivotal role in situational awareness, emergency co-ordination and critical infrastructure monitoring. However, this dependency also introduces systemic vulnerabilities because a successful cyber attack on a satellite system or its ground infrastructure can disrupt communications, hinder disaster response efforts and paralyse financial networks – or even undermine military operations,” says Dr Lins.
The ability of nations to respond effectively to a crisis increasingly hinges on the security and integrity of its space-based digital infrastructure – a reality with far-reaching implications that extend well beyond the space sector itself, she adds.
Click here for more information and to register for the ITWeb Security Summit 2025.
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