As a听trusted space partner听to the U.S. government, 无忧传媒 helps clients modernize capabilities for today鈥檚 greatest space challenges:听
The U.S. government has identified some of the most critical threats to space systems:
听mandates cyber protections for space systems, supporting the national security goal of maintaining U.S. leadership and freedom of action in space.听
Operational Technology Meets IT
The White House鈥檚听for IT and operational technology (OT) underscores a critical aspect of space systems: They鈥檙e a hybrid of IT and OT.
鈥淭hese systems are at the intersection of the cyber and physical worlds,鈥� says Kevin Coggins, vice president and head of 无忧传媒鈥檚 positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) business. 鈥淵ou must protect the threat surface of the physical systems听as well as their network connections.鈥�
鈥淔or space cyber defense, you need to understand the mission, the ecosystem, and what threats make this environment different鈥攚hether in the systems themselves or the processes used to manage those systems,鈥� says Brad Stone, 无忧传媒's chief information officer. For example:
&驳迟;听Mission鈥擡nsure precision.听Many defense and intelligence space missions revolve around gathering information using geographical coordinates. Therefore, location matters.听
> Ecosystem鈥擴nderstand each layer.听罢丑别蝉别听operational technology听systems include satellites, ground systems, control centers, and connected devices. 鈥淵ou need to check every connection from the ground station to the space layer,鈥� says Kevin.
> Threats鈥擫ook from the ground up.听Ground systems are the easiest for an adversary to attack鈥攆or example, jamming (OT attack) or pinging an uplink antenna (IT attack).听Unencrypted public signals like GPS are especially vulnerable.
> Outsource with caution.听Although cloud providers work to scale security, system owners must still address the diverse vulnerabilities of every system layer, from access controls to satellite downlinks.
> Plan for breach.听鈥淵ou want to design not just for functionality, but resiliency鈥攁nd that means redundancy,鈥� Kevin says. System designers should include elements like:
Advanced protection strategies begin with open frameworks, the foundation of flexible systems.听
Open Systems Architecture
Migrating to听open systems architecture听provides an entry point for next-generation engineering at the intersection of听. Through open standards and reusable components, open frameworks allow organizations to:听听
IT/OT Best Practices
As a blend of IT and OT, space systems need cyber protections similar to that of听industrial control systems听and other听operational technology鈥攆or example, automated processes. They need safeguards mandated for all government IT systems, such as:
To thwart adversaries in the high-stakes domain of space, cyber specialists must go beyond general principles to mitigate the vulnerabilities of that specific system.
The next generation of space systems needs to be developed with cybersecurity in mind from Day One. That鈥檚 where听model-based systems engineering听(MBSE) comes in. MBSE includes customized specialties such as reverse engineering and听digital twins.
Reverse Engineering: Discover Vulnerabilities听
鈥淔or years, we鈥檝e been reverse-engineering legacy systems鈥攆or example, launch systems from 40 years ago that never had an as-built [contractor drawing submitted at project completion],鈥� says Steve Bolish, a cyber director in our Colorado Springs office.听
鈥淲e decompose a system into its parts so the military has an understanding of how to modernize it. And it allows us to identify built-in vulnerabilities so they can mitigate them鈥攁nd replace legacy systems with modern, secure, sustainable architectures.鈥澨�
Digital Twins: Prepare for the Unknown
鈥淲e can build a digital twin of the whole system rapidly鈥攇round control, uplink, and space vehicle,鈥� Kevin says. 鈥淲ith digital twins, you can learn to manage in the unknown.鈥�
Once the virtual model is built, cyber specialists conduct vulnerability scans and penetration tests. They can then:听
Our teams maintain a custom听threat hunt library听which we leverage along with client data to supply a continually updated reference. This allows cyber specialists to build a picture of what鈥檚 normal, identify anomalies, and continually refine the system鈥檚 threat posture.
Space cybersecurity can be mapped to the NIST framework for managing cyber risk. Digital twins can be used in all five functions, regardless of the organization鈥檚 cyber maturity level. Here are a few examples:
As adversaries develop new methods of attack, we invent new ways to protect. Here are some concepts we鈥檙e taking to cyber鈥檚 leading edge.
Space Cyber Test Range
Our PNT teams are working to create a simulated ecosystem depicting space assets in orbit. A digital twin can then be linked to a that system鈥檚 physical ground station and operations center or digital representations of those elements. This will accelerate threat detection and mitigation across the system lifecycle.
AI at the Edge
Advances in analytics and cloud capabilities enable AI to play an increasing role.
For example, 鈥淕round stations can be upgraded to act as a smart sensor, ingesting and analyzing data as it streams in rather than sending low-level metrics to a data lake,鈥� Brad says.听
Smart systems will advance the mission as well as protect it. 鈥淲ith听AI at the point of the sensor, you can know you鈥檙e getting a valid signal. That would allow decisions to be made at the speed of the data鈥攁 major goal for JADC2,鈥� he points out.
Integrating Systems Engineering, Cyber, and MBSE
鈥淭raditional systems engineers envision separate tracks for systems engineering, MBSE, and听cybersecurity. We integrate it all,鈥� says Steve Bolish, a cyber director in our Colorado Springs office.听
鈥淐lients get an 鈥榓ha!鈥� moment when we point out that the same documents can be used for all three tracks.鈥� Conducting the activities concurrently delivers advantages such as:
鈥淐reating a parallel path for systems integration, cyber, and MBSE truly gives the client a build that鈥檚 faster, cheaper, and better,鈥� Steve says.
When clients engage us to secure space systems, they know they鈥檒l receive state-of-the-art听cybersecurity听from a听leader in the field. Here鈥檚 a snapshot of what we provide:听听
Intelligence and Defense Understanding
Digital Engineering and Agile Development
