With renewed government and private focus on the “Space Race” and recent cybersecurity research concentration on satellite vulnerabilities, we believe a “hack in space” will hit the headlines in 2022.

Recently, satellite hacking has gained investigative attention from the cybersecurity community among researchers and at conferences like DEF CON. While satellites might seem out of reach from most threats, researchers have found they can communicate with them using about $300 worth of gear. Furthermore, older satellites may not have focused on modern security controls, relying on distance and obscurity for defense.

Meanwhile, many private companies have begun their space race, which will greatly increase the attack surface in orbit. Companies like Starlink are launching satellites by the thousands. Between those two trends, plus the value of orbital systems to nation states, economies, and society, we suspect governments have quietly started their cyber defense campaigns in space already. Don’t be surprised if we see a space-related hack in the headlines one day soon.

See more of WatchGuard's 2022 Cybersecurity Predictions here:
https://www.watchguard.com/wgrd-resource-center/cyber-security-predictions