Industry Experts Say Lack of Cyber Standards Poses Challenge to Satellite Firms

A panel of experts at the CyberSat event discussed the lack of cybersecurity standards and how it affects satellite companies, Via Satellite reported Thursday.

“The question everyone has been asking here, and they’re asking it at other (space industry) conferences I’ve attended, is: What do we need to do to secure our space assets?” said Harrison Caudill, founder of the non-profit Orbital Security Alliance.

Caudill noted that the alliance is now working on cyber practices and standards for satellite operators and plans to lobby Congress to make those standards mandatory by introducing a federal measure.

Ron Bushar, vice president and chief technology officer for government solutions at FireEye, said one of the issues facing satellite companies when it comes to cybersecurity is uncertainty over the effectiveness of a cyber platform.

“Cybersecurity architectures, first, have to work. They have to protect you effectively. And two, they have to (be able to) reside in place for many years. There’s a significant investment both in money and time. If you pick the wrong technology … you’ll experience cascading effects for many years,” Bushar added.