Biden approves executive order to strengthen cybersecurity for commercial satellite systems

WASHINGTON — In a final push to lay a strong cybersecurity foundation for the incoming administration, President Joe Biden approved an executive order early today that addresses lessons learned in the cyber realm over the past four years, distinctly calling for practices that would protect commercial satellite systems against cyber attacks. 

“The goal is to better understand how to better protect and secure these systems and stay ahead of new threats,” Anne Neuberger, outgoing deputy national security advisor for cybersecurity and emerging tech, told reporters in a call prior to the order’s release. 

The executive order mandates the development of new cyber contract requirements for “agency-procured” space systems, which include the protection of command and control space systems and the use of “secure hardware and software development practices.” 

“Russia’s attack of Ukraine’s commercially provided military satellite communications systems the evening before it invaded Ukraine demonstrated the devastating impacts disruption of space infrastructure can bring,” a fact sheet on the executive order sent to reporters read. “Cybersecurity threats to space systems have risen dramatically, threatening global critical infrastructure and communications.” 

Additionally, Biden’s order calls for the National Cyber Director to perform inventory on space ground systems and give recommendations to improve cyber defenses, adding that the disruption of such systems “can bring global commerce to a halt and seriously impact national security.”

The mandates published today have long been seen as necessary by the cybersecurity and space communities.

For example, just last month the head of the Space Force’s Space Development Agency Derek Tournear said that one of his biggest worries is ensuring cybersecurity across interconnected mesh networks made up of large numbers of small satellites — such as the agency’s planned data transfer layer and the increasing numbers of commercial internet mega-constellations in low Earth orbit.

Last spring, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published a white paper listing several recommendations for space commercial systems, contending that there is an increased threat to such systems as space becomes more integrated into daily life. The report added that if there are not appropriate cybersecurity precautions in place, “adversaries can access vulnerabilities within connected space systems to degrade our critical infrastructure and place our nation at risk.” 

Some recommendations that CISA made included: protecting payloads using network segregation and segmentation principles; limiting privileges and securely authenticating users to reduce exposure to malware; ensuring that appropriate protections and controls are implemented in the design, operation and maintenance of ground segments; and design systems with “multiple layers” of defense, which include technical capabilities such as an Intrusion Detection System. 

In the event that a commercial space system belonging to the federal government does undergo a cyber attack, the executive order calls for “centralized visibility,” meaning that CISA has the ability to conduct searches on all federal networks to ensure the attacker is not living on any other systems. 

“If we find one particular technique that a foreign government has used to hack one particular federal agency, this now tasks CISA and gives CISA centralized visibility to hunt across all agency systems to ensure we’re defending against this attack broadly,” Neuberger said Wednesday. 

Theresa Hitchens contributed to this report.