Outer Space, the Final Frontier of Cyberspace: Regulating Cybersecurity Issues in Two Interwoven Domains

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the last decades, space activities have become more automated and digitized due to the technological development. As such, it is crucial to consider cyberspace and its risks to guarantee safety, security, and long-term sustainability of space activities, as well as to ensure that activities in outer space are carried out for the benefit of humankind. The paper assumes that both areas are global commons and numerous interactions exist between them, notably in terms of cybersecurity. Indeed, there is an increasing risk of attack against satellites, including interferences, jamming, and hacking, which reveals that the security aspects of satellite systems and data transmission cannot be overlooked, and the risk of cyberwarfare is real. Cybersecurity regulations at international, regional, and national levels to determine the potential elements applicable to space activities are examined in this paper. The paper stresses the need to bring together actors involved in the domain of cyber and in space activities with the aim to implement a structured, appropriated, and responsive regulatory framework to cyberthreats by considering the interdependence between these two areas. In this regard, it is argued that a compartmentalized approach with relation to cyber and outer space should be avoided.