Hacking the Cosmos: Cyber operations against the space sector. A case study from the war in Ukraine
A few hours prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russia’s military intelligence (GRU) launched a destructive cyberattack against ViaSat’s KA-SAT satellite network, which was used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It prevented them from using satellite communications to respond to the invasion. After the ViaSat hack, numerous cyber operations were conducted against the space sector from both sides of the conflict.
This Cyber Defense Report investigates all other cyber operations that have occurred against the space sector during the war in Ukraine (February 2022 – September 2024). The report looks into the effects of these operations as well as their perpetrators and what it signifies in the larger context of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.
Chapters of the publication
1. Key targets in the space sector
This chapter addresses the types of cyber operations that were conducted against the space sector as well as the types of space entities that have been targeted by threat actors in the context of the war in Ukraine. Selected examples are provided to illustrate the report’s research findings.
2. Understanding threat actors’ behaviors
This chapter provides an overview of the various hacker groups that target the space sector as part of the Russo-Ukrainian war, how they behave, how it impacts activities on the battlefield, and how they are linked to their governments.
3. Understanding the political and strategic implications of cyber conflict in space
This chapter addresses the political and strategic stakes of cyber operations against the space sector as part of the war in Ukraine, providing an overview of the role of the conflict in the evolution of the threat landscape as well as its implications for the militarization and weaponization of outer space.