The United States fears cyber attacks on space missions

Government sends recommendation on defenses to be adopted to ward off cyber threats to satellites and vehicles

Trump administration takes cybersecurity as a priority in space, 2015. (Photo by Kenan Irtak / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images ) The US government has published the Fifth Space Policy Directive in which it has compiled a list of improvements that the space industry should apply to better protect its aircraft from cyber threats.

The aim of the document is push the industry so that the spacecraft produced have the right defenses and cyber security plans in line with the possible threats coming from cyberspace. This means that the design, construction and operation phases of aircraft and satellites must always be protected by cryptographic software and by all the protections necessary to counter cyber threats.

According to what reported by The Verge, for Washington needs to focus on cybersecurity in space as well as there are growing threats now that the space race seems to have resumed with new goals, such as returning man to the moon or landing on Mars. “These threats are diverse and complex, and robust public-private cooperation to improve the security and resilience of an infrastructure is key to our efforts,” an official told The Verge.

The defensive response on the The computer-space plan seems to come following a Defense Department report detailing China's growing advances in space, pointing out how the rival power was developing weapons such as satellite jammers and other "offensive cyber capabilities."