And yet there are clear and critical points of intersection.
Almost all modern military engagements rely on space-based assets, but cyber vulnerabilities can undermine confidence in the performance of strategic systems. This project evaluates the threats, vulnerabilities and consequences of cyber risks to strategic systems.
For example, global communication infrastructures are at least partly dependent on the intersection of cyber and space technologies for international transmission and connection. In addition to longitude, latitude, and altitude, GPS satellites provide timing functions that are crucial to the efficiency of financial networks and even electrical power grids.
Similarly, much of the western defence infrastructure is highly dependent on smooth functioning in both environments. Other regions of the world are less advanced but may be less vulnerable in this regard and that in itself may create instabilities and enable highly disruptive and asymmetric attacks.
Over the course of several workshops this project brings together a multi-disciplinary range of experts to explore these issues in further detail.
The overall objective of the project is to identify cyber security vulnerabilities of the space-based strategic weapons, to find policy implications and mitigation measures arising from space vulnerabilities to cyber-attacks and to ascertain ways to create resilience in NATO and key NATO countries, building the capacity of key policymakers and stakeholders to respond with effective policies and procedures.
This project is supported by Norwegian Ministry of Defence.
