Space security issues can be traced back to the 1980s. In 1989, several systems were hit by a computer virus called “WANK”.
Although suspicion initially focused on one or more French attackers, investigations soon established that the attack had originated from Australia. Some would go so far as to say that this attack was one of Julian Assange’s first moves. Assange had decided to attack NASA because the agency was planning to launch a nuclear-powered satellite, and many activists associated this with the danger of nuclear power (the 1986 Chernobyl disaster was still fresh in everyone’s minds). Assange then decided to attack NASA’s systems in order to delay the launch. There is still a great deal of doubt as to the origin of the attack.
The 1980s-1990s were a golden age for hacktivism, with the emergence of hacker culture. This period and the decades that followed quickly established NASA as a prime target. A space agency reflects the politics of its country, and indeed, space agencies in many countries are particularly targeted.
At CyberInflight, we continuously monitor the evolution of the threat and establish trends that feed into our business intelligence studies in the field of space cybersecurity.
For further information, please contact us at : research@cyberinflight.com
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