Space Pirates! Crime can also target satellites and space bases
Space Pirates! We are not talking about a science fiction book, but a real one about “high crimes” and misdemeanors. The fact that space is also a commercial asset brings with it the prospect of misdeeds, corruption, piracy and war.
The Center for the Study of Space Crime, Policy, and Governance (CSCPG) is examining the risks of piracy in space and solutions to this potentially devastating economic and legal problem.
“It's time to start thinking and talking about how to mitigate the threat of piracy in space,” said Marc Feldman, executive director of the CSCPG. “As we like to say, and please forgive me, Leon Trotsky, but perhaps you are not interested in space piracy, but space pirates are interested in you…”.
Feldman, a space entrepreneur and finance professional, is co-author, with cybersecurity, technology and compliance specialist Hugh Taylor, of “ Space Piracy: Preparing for a Criminal Crisis in Orbit ” (Wiley, 2025). Taylor is director of the CSCPG.
As they write in their newly published book, “we think the phenomenon will happen” and offer suggestions to mitigate the risk. We refer to our content as “speculative nonfiction,” they add.
Attacks: physical and digital
If anything is certain in the industry, it's that it will happen, if it hasn't already. “We argue that it has already started, in very early stages, with satellite hacking attempts,” Taylor told Space.com . “However, we believe that the increasingly commercial nature of space will lead to attacks, physical and digital, on space assets, likely starting with the disruption of Earth-based space assets, such as launch facilities or ground stations.”
As for concrete measures to counter the threat of space piracy, Taylor said there are a couple of different entities that need to "address" the problem.
"From a US perspective, our thinking is that there needs to be a lead agency that brings together the different stakeholders. It could be the US Space Force, although at the moment it doesn't appear to be structured for that or mandated to do that," Taylor said, also ignoring the political problems that such a choice would pose at this time.
Various interested parties
Alternatively, an agency (or sub-agency) dedicated to space security within the U.S. intelligence community may be needed, Taylor said.
The U.S. Navy is a prime candidate, given its 250 years of experience fighting pirates, “but it doesn't have the legal charter to get involved, if I understand the federal statutes,” Taylor said.
At the global level, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is probably the best place to bring together the different stakeholders who need to engage on this issue, Taylor added.
"People don't like the United Nations, but it's probably the only place where everyone can come together and talk. It could be the starting point," Taylor said.
Cartels and kidnappers
The Center focuses on crime in space, from space hacking to existing cybersecurity standards and practices in space , to laws and treaties relevant to space crime, as well as cartels and kidnappers. A recent CSCPG webinar addressed the topic of space as the next frontier for money laundering.
According to Feldman, early episodes of space piracy could include, for example, the acquisition of a broadcast satellite in Earth's geosynchronous orbit , to disrupt a major global media event, such as the World Cup.
The space pirates' order might be: “ Either you pay a very large sum to secure the televised event, or it goes dark… and more blackouts will follow ,” Feldman predicts. " Also look at the satellites involved in the expeditions. They are very vulnerable ." In short, a true anonymous kidnapping operation, but carried out in space, with methods and purposes no different from those of extortion actions that occur on earth.
Quick response
Feldman emphasizes the need to develop new weapons and rapid response vehicles to deal with events such as hostage-taking on a commercial space station. “There is no way to respond quickly at the moment.”
Having small, agile, fast and adequately armed space transportation could provide options for dealing with an event like this, Feldman told Space.com.
Feldman said criminal actions are an important source of technological innovation.
"Pirates were instrumental in forcing colonial shipbuilding from New England to the Carolinas to build custom ships for their pirate clients. These ships were sleek, fast, and designed to store plunder and hostages," Feldman said.
The first thing to do, Feldman suggests, is that the US Intelligence Community and the US Space Force must recognize that non-state actors, such as pirates and criminals, are and will be a major threat to our military space assets .
"Right now the focus, which is correct, is on sovereign nations, like China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. We say the focus needs to be broadened to non-state actors," Feldman said. “Once this understanding is assimilated, creative responses to prevent and mitigate these threats will follow,” concluded Feldman. Also because, to disable a satellite or "take hostages" in space it is not necessary to be in space: it is enough to have good hackers and infiltrators on earth, and organized crime can have plenty of these figures.
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The article Space Pirates! Crime can also target satellites and space bases and comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/pirati-spaziali-la-criminalita-puo-avere-nel-mirino-anche-satelliti-e-basi-spaziali/ on Thu, 03 Apr 2025 20:29:11 +0000.