John Shaw, former Deputy Commander of United States Space Command, discussed these concerns during an interview with the Chosun Daily on Jun. 20 at the Westin Josun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. He was in South Korea as a keynote speaker at the ‘2024 Cyber Security Conference’ hosted by ChosunBiz.
“You can be anywhere in the world, use your credit card, and instantly get a notification on your smartphone. You can watch the climate from satellites to know what’s happening on Earth and change your lifestyle or policies. So space, cyber, and our daily lives are intimately connected,” Shaw said.
Shaw warned that as space capabilities expand, the potential for cyberattacks also increases. “Cyber has the largest attack surface. It can target the ground station, the command and control station, the satellites themselves, the communication links between the satellites and the ground stations, and the users who are utilizing the satellite capability,” he explained.
An expert in artificial intelligence (AI), military strategy, and security, Shaw served in the United States Air Force and led space defense initiatives. From 2020 to 2023, he was the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Space Command.
To address cyber threats, Shaw emphasized the need for collaboration among technologically advanced industries, the government, and the military.
“The cybersecurity systems we’re operating in the government may be many years old, but the commercial sector has a brand new capability. Companies like Google are at the forefront of defeating threats and finding solutions. It would not make sense for the U.S. government to embark on a multi-year program to implement those solutions. So collaboration between the private and military sectors is really important,” he said.
Shaw also highlighted the importance of developing talent in space cybersecurity, noting that reliance on space capabilities will only grow.
“The U.S. government and Department of Defense Space Force are trying to grow expertise in cybersecurity by sending our personnel on internships to companies like Google, Apple, or Microsoft. These internships, lasting from six months to two years, allow our personnel to learn inside those companies and bring those skills back to the government,” he added.
