"Cybersecurity Gaps Could Put Astronauts at Grave Risk"

As NASA's Artemis program, China's Tiangong Space Station, and a growing number of space-tourism companies prepare to usher in a new era of human spaceflight, more attention is needed for cybersecurity in space. Cyber threats to crewed spacecraft may focus on proximity methods, such as the installation of malware or ransomware on a spacecraft's internal computer. In a paper titled "Cybersecurity and Human Spaceflight Safety," Gregory Falco, an assistant professor of civil and systems engineering at Johns Hopkins University, and co-author Nathaniel Gordon outline four ways in which crew members, including space tourists, may be used as part of these threats: crew as the attacker, crew as an attack vector, crew as collateral damage, and crew as the target. Private and national proprietary secrets could be stolen, the crew could be placed at risk by ransomware, and crew members could be targeted through an attack on safety-critical systems such as air filters. This article continues to discuss the cybersecurity problems that could put astronauts at risk. 

IEEE Spectrum reports "Cybersecurity Gaps Could Put Astronauts at Grave Risk"