2025/09/05 by Charbel Mattar, Mattar, Charbel, Jacques Bou Abdo +7
Physics and Astronomy · #Cryptography and Security (cs.CR) #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life #Space exploration and regulation
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2509.05496
openalex publication_date 2025/09/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Satellites, drones, and 5G space links now support critical services such as air traffic, finance, and weather. Yet most were not built to resist modern cyber threats. Ground stations can be breached, GPS jammed, and supply chains compromised, while no shared list of vulnerabilities or safe testing range exists. This paper maps eleven research gaps, including secure routing, onboard intrusion detection, recovery methods, trusted supply chains, post-quantum encryption, zero-trust architectures, and real-time impact monitoring. For each, we outline the challenge, why it matters, and a guiding research question. We also highlight an agentic (multi-agent) AI approach where small, task-specific agents share defense tasks onboard instead of one large model. Finally, we propose a five-year roadmap: post-quantum and QKD flight trials, open cyber-ranges, clearer vulnerability shar ing, and early multi-agent deployments. These steps move space cybersecurity from reactive patching toward proactive resilience.