The satellite cybersecurity environment is experiencing a significant shift. As the SATCOM sector expands across commercial, governmental, and dual-use platforms, the attack surface of the space segment itself has grown significantly. At the same time, security practices have historically focused on the ground segment. The assumption that a secure ground station adequately protects the satellite platform mirrors patterns seen across the history of networked infrastructure: in telecommunications, in industrial control systems, and now in space. Addressing this gap demands threat assessment methodologies purpose-built for the unique constraints of the space segment, which is isolated by design, power-constrained, and operating without the connectivity assumptions that support conventional cybersecurity tools.
Dominant Information Solutions Canada (DISC) is developing a scalable, manufacturer-agnostic satellite security risk assessment framework through the ESA/OHB Cybersecurity Makerspace program. It is grounded in established threat modeling disciplines and references elements of both SPARTA and ESA’s Space Shield frameworks. By assessing satellites at opposite ends of the complexity spectrum, from commercial off-the-shelf to custom bespoke platforms, the project aims to produce a principled, extensible methodology that European stakeholders are able to apply across a broadening supplier base. This work builds on DISC’s prior development of hardware-based intrusion detection capability for the space segment, funded by the Canadian Department of National Defense and recognized by an INNOspace Masters innovation award.