ITSPmagazine’s Unusual Gatherings XXXV: Cybersecurity in Space and at Sea

Conversations At The Intersection Of Technology, CyberSecurity And Society.

Guests
William Malik | Zachary Staples
Hosts
Sean Martin | Marco Ciappelli

ITSPmagazine’s Unusual Gatherings XXXV: Cybersecurity in Space and at Sea

As we all know, a space traveler is called an astronaut - this, of course, if the traveler belongs to the human race. I do not speak any alien languages yet, and therefore, I have no idea how to address them if I ever get to meet one.

Anyway — maybe not everybody knows that this term derives from the Greek words ástron (ἄστρον), meaning "star", and nautes (ναύτης), meaning "sailor".

Aeronaut, for example, was the term used for the first air traveler, which happened to be balloonists - back in the 18th century.

What's my point? Well, you'll see. But first relax, read the rest of this chronicle, and listen to the podcast — the answer may be there.

We are glad to start recording again for our Unusual Gatherings Talk Show, where we bring together two guests that often don't get to play in the same sandbox. As a matter of fact, in this episode, we talk about cybersecurity in space and at sea. While they are quite different environments, they do have some commonalities and connections.

The idea here is to give our audience a view of what the current state of cybersecurity is within these two environments; and perhaps even see where these two cyber worlds connect. How did we arrive where we are, how do we use these technologies for our society, and with that, where are we at risk and how vulnerabilities might negatively affect and hurt our modern way of life.

We speak about advanced IoT devices that are kings and queens in these two separate and yet connected environments: satellites and ships.

We started our conversation with Sputnik 1 and some of the first ocean explorations to jump straight into what the reality of today looks like and why are we even talking about cybersecurity into these environments.

We could summarize part one of this conversation with what in InfoSec is well-known as the concept of "Non-Secure By Design." Why today we need to design with cybersecurity in mind and how — if — we can retrofit such technology to be secure, especially considering where some of it is located. You know, up in space, or deep beneath the ocean’s surface.

As we progress into the conversation, we look at how these technologies in both environments are very much interconnected and both play a role in the backbone of our modern social infrastructure. If you think about this for a moment, you might connect the dots. Many, however, use these technologies and experience the benefits they bring to our society every day without paying one thought to where it comes from and how it works.

Satellites help ships navigate and connect us all from above, while ships — which we can consider the first smart cities — are the backbone of our global economy and very much a major critical infrastructure of our society.

We must think very seriously about making these and all other infrastructure safe and secure. There are no other alternatives.

The similarity is as apparent as are the differences.

The oceans were the original space for humankind. Discoveries. Survival. Hostile environments. Think about the concept of a ship as a self-sufficient smart city and what we are doing with the International Space Station, as we prepare to set base on moons and planets.

Plus, let's face it: aren't we all on a ship floating in space?

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