Space infrastructure is as essential to daily life as electricity or the internet. Global Positioning Systems (GPS), satellite communications, weather forecasting, disaster recovery coordination, real-time logistics – it all depends on fleets of satellites that invisibly make our modern world function. And increasingly, that infrastructure makes your business function, too.
Satellites now underpin most facets of modern enterprise operations. They support redundant communications for business continuity, deliver critical weather data that informs industries like agriculture and retail, and power the precision timing systems essential to banking, financial trading, and telecommunications. Our growing reliance on satellites mirrors our dependence on terrestrial technology like cell phones and fast internet access everywhere, even in the most remote areas.
A new ‘space race’ is on – and it’s one that today’s modern enterprise can’t ignore.
The ‘space race’ has shifted
Thanks in part to plunging launch costs and technological miniaturisation, the space race is no longer just between nations. It’s now driven by tech giants and private innovators.
As of May 2025, there were more than 11,700 active satellites in orbit, due in large part to growing private satellite networks.1 SpaceX has already deployed more than 7,500 Starlink satellites as part of a ‘mega-constellation’ of 30,000+ units to blanket the Earth with high-speed internet access. In China, launches for a “mega-constellation” of 13,000 small communications satellites are underway.2
This shift is ushering in an age of democratised access to space-based platforms. Even mid-sized enterprises can now rent bandwidth, lease orbital capacity, launch small satellites or analyse satellite imagery at scale. What used to require government contracts and rocket science now fits into corporate IT budgets.
New opportunities mean new risks
The growing reliance on satellites mirrors the digital transformation trends that have already reshaped Earth-bound business. And just like cloud systems a decade ago, this new infrastructure comes with new risks.
Nation-state actors and cybercriminals alike are developing counter-space capabilities, from jamming and spoofing to malware targeting ground and orbital systems. The more satellites in orbit and the more critical the functions, the greater the risk of being targeted.
A striking example: During the early hours of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, a cyberattack on the Viasat KA-SAT network disrupted satellite internet across Europe and disabled telemetry systems for over 5,800 wind turbines in Germany. The spillover impact affected energy infrastructure and highlighted just how intertwined our terrestrial and orbital systems have become.
If your business depends on GPS, cloud logistics, global supply chains or financial trading, you’re already reliant on satellites—and that infrastructure should be safeguarded and monitored like any mission-critical system.
Questions every enterprise leader should be asking right now:
- What are our dependencies on satellite systems?
- How secure are the vendors and partners managing those systems?
- Do our vendors or supply chain partners use satellite infrastructure?
- What’s our resiliency plan if space-based services become unavailable?
- Have we modelled satellite disruption in our business continuity exercises?
- Are we tracking quantum and AI-driven threats in our risk models?
The new cyber threat landscape
It’s a common misconception: because satellites float in the cold, vast silence of space, they should be inherently secure. In reality, satellites and their ecosystems are vulnerable to many of the same cyber threats as Earth-bound systems—except the stakes are higher and the consequences are far more difficult to mitigate once something goes wrong.
Satellites should operate autonomously, withstand cosmic radiation, and continue functioning through solar flares and temperature extremes. This means designing for resilience and fault tolerance from the start (there’s no IT helpdesk in orbit!)
Satellite systems are exposed through four critical attack surfaces:
Start with the fundamentals
The core principles of enterprise cybersecurity are just as relevant in space as they are on the ground:
- Design resilient and secure systems
Prioritise redundancy, segmentation, and fault-tolerant architectures. These are the building blocks of resilience. Multifactor authentication baked into the system should be a requirement. - Implement defence-in-depth strategies
Think in layers of security – physical, network, software, and cryptographic measures to reduce breach impact. - Trust but verify your vendors
Confirm your suppliers are rigorously vetted and your supply chain integrity is regularly audited to reduce the risk of hidden vulnerabilities or embedded backdoors. Engage with information-sharing organisations like the Space ISAC (Information Sharing and Analysis Center) to stay ahead of emerging threats.4 - Design for degradation
Because satellites can’t be rebooted with a technician on-site, systems should be designed for ‘graceful’ degradation – failing slowly and continuing to operate in a reduced or semi-functional state if the satellite services become unavailable. - Continuously monitor and adapt
Implement continuous monitoring, anomaly detection, and automated incident response to quickly identify and mitigate threats. Support secure, timely software updates in orbit, and stay vigilant against emerging risks such as quantum computing and AI-driven spoofing.
The encryption challenge: A quantum-sized threat—Quantum computers could soon break the public key encryption (like RSA or ECC) protecting satellite communications. Satellites launched today may remain operational for decades—beyond when quantum threats emerge. Plan for quantum-resistant cryptography and embrace ‘crypto agility’ to update algorithms as standards evolve.
- Prepare to lead, not just respond
Cybersecurity is about strategic readiness. Some actions you can take now include:- Add satellite security scenarios to business continuity planning
- Encourage your CIO/CISO to establish protocols for reviewing space-dependent systems and vendor risks
- Engage with your cybersecurity and risk leaders early and often
- Explore public-private partnerships and global information-sharing alliances like Space ISAC
The opportunity ahead (and above)
Yes, the risks are real. But so are the opportunities:
Redundancy and resilience
Redundant satellite communications are already being used as an automatic failover for enterprise networks. If fibre-optic lines are cut or cellular service is disrupted, satellite systems can keep operations online with little to no disruption. This is especially critical in remote locations such as offshore platforms, rural logistics centres, or international facilities without robust terrestrial infrastructure.
Global reach
Satellites help close the digital divide. This has transformative implications for:
- Telemedicine: Delivering remote care in broadband-limited regions
- Education: Powering digital learning in underserved areas
- Agriculture: Enabling precision farming in remote locations
Frontier for innovation
The unique nature of space is making the impossible more probable than ever. Emerging innovations include:
- Blockchain – Some firms are exploring the use of space-based nodes to process blockchain transactions, with potential benefits like reduced latency, enhanced global redundancy, and hardened physical security.
- Biotech and pharma R&D – Research conducted in zero-gravity environments is revealing new insights in drug crystallisation, tissue growth, and chemical reactions. This has already led to interest from major pharmaceutical companies in space-based manufacturing and experimentation.
- Climate tech and ESG – Satellite imagery and remote sensing are enabling real-time monitoring of deforestation, emissions, crop health, and disaster zones, creating entirely new data streams for sustainability reporting and climate action.
Space is no longer a distant frontier–it’s a dynamic, integrated layer of your business infrastructure. Awareness, preparation, and bold collaboration are now critical to safeguarding your operations and unlocking new value.
Because the next wave of disruption–and opportunity–isn’t just on the horizon. It’s overhead, waiting for you to lead.
Authors
Global cybersecurity & privacy
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