The bulletin urged the US space companies to be vigilant and report suspicious activities to the FBI or AFOSI. It also advised them to track “peculiar incidents” and establish “insider threat” programs to vet individuals in sensitive positions.
The US authorities have long accused Chinese hackers of targeting US space know-how, including hacking computers at NASA’s Goddard Space Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as well as numerous companies involved in aviation, space and satellite technology. In 2019, a Chinese national named Tao Li was sentenced to 40 months in prison for conspiring to illegally export military- and space-grade technology to China, including radiation-hardened power amplifiers and circuits.China claims that its space program is for peaceful purposes, but US military officials say that Beijing sees space as crucial to its military strategy.
The US wants to help small and medium satellite companies that may not be aware of the risks from foreign spies and to make them more secure and resilient, a US counterintelligence official said on condition of anonymity.Big satellite companies with links to the government have already faced attacks. As per a report by
, Viasat Inc. had to replace over 45,000 modems across Europe and beyond after a cyberattack in 2022 before Russia invaded Ukraine. Starlink, part of SpaceX, said it faced jamming attacks when it tried to provide service to Ukraine.