The last decade has seen an incredible increase in the commercial use of space. Businesses and individual consumers now leverage space solutions that are so integrated into our systems that they seem invisible. Some of these services include:
- Communications, including very high-speed low latency communications to distant and mobile users
- Location data that optimize the operations of almost every sector of the economy and our personal lives
- New data sources that feed decision-making by governments, businesses and investors
- News and entertainment that informs an increasingly mobile public
Space has also been used by criminal elements and at times nations seeking to disrupt businesses. Key examples to date include the unauthorized use of space-based communications systems for command and control of malicious code (worms and botnets). But this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are more threats to business from space than most realize.
Thankfully the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has just released an assessment titled “Challenges to Security in Space” which provides some key insights into space threats. OODA analysts Michael Brooks, Matt Devost and Bob Gourley have summarized key elements of this DIA product and produced a special report for OODA members that adds the “so what” from a business perspective to the DIA assessment. In our report What Business Needs To Know About Security In Space we provide recommended actions that businesses can and should take today to mitigate risks from space threats.
