Threats, Trends & Insights: September 2026

I. SPACE CYBERSECURITY GEOPOLITICS

The German Bundeswehr is on its way to becoming a space power

The German Bundeswehr is massively expanding its capabilities in orbit. With billions in investments, its own security strategy, and new military capabilities, the Bundeswehr aims to become Europe's leading space power — right behind the U.S. and China. The reason is as simple as it is troubling: Without satellites, neither modern warfare nor everyday civilian life can function.

Source: militaraktuell

European Space Defense: Paris wants to move from cooperation to military capability

Europe is beginning to organize its space defense in the same way it already organizes its air and cyber defense. Gathering in Paris on the sidelines of the International Space Summit, defense officials from some 30 countries participated in the first edition of the European Space Defense Forum. Seated around the table were the member states of the European Union, as well as Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Switzerland.

Source: BusinessTimes

Bythewood: Space warfare demands speed, scale, and a dynamic culture

Speed, scale and a dynamic culture: that's what it will take for the U.S. Space Force to keep pace with a rapidly evolving space fight, Lt. Gen. Dennis O. Bythewood said Sept. 14. The discussion came less than 2 months after U.S. Space Command released The Space Warfighting Environment 2040, a warfighter-centered look at how the Joint Force may have to operate in an increasingly crowded and contested space domain. It builds on Space Force efforts to define the future operating environment and the force needed to succeed in it.

Source: U.S. Space Forces

America's absence from NATO's latest space initiative, HALO

Akash Shah analyses the necessity of HALO for NATO's integration of space architecture. Here, he suggests that President Trump's push for European self-reliance, data sovereignty, and technical challenges could all explain the U.S. absence from this initiative.

Source: The Loop

II. SPACE CYBERSECURITY MARKET INTELLIGENCE

UK moves to expand military space capabilities with £7.8bn strategy

The Defense Secretary launched a new space strategy to protect critical space infrastructure, which, if disabled, could cripple the UK economy. The Government pledged £7.8bn for space, including an £880m pot to boost UK space intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities to track enemy activity and stop attacks on satellites.

Sources: AOL, The Defense Watch, RNTFND

KAIperShield and Cyber in space form Indo-Pacific partnership on mission-focused cyber resilience

KAIperShield and Cyber in Space have signed a business development and customer engagement agreement to expand access to cyber resilience and mission assurance capabilities developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory across Australia, New Zealand, and the wider Indo-Pacific.

Source: Australian Cybersecurity Magazine

Estonian company CybExer to play key role in testing IRIS² security

CybExer, an Estonian cybersecurity company, is to play a key role in helping keep the EU's future secure satellite connectivity system, IRIS², secure. It will lead a ten-company European consortium developing an end-to-end capability to test and validate protected satellite communications linked to IRIS². CybExer made the announcement last week.

Source: ViaSatellite

III. SPACE CYBERSECURITY THREAT INTELLIGENCE

China-Singapore security team claims breakthrough in hacking Starlink terminals

In a post on its social media account, Darknavy, an independent cybersecurity research institute headquartered in Singapore and Shanghai, said it had used sophisticated hardware attacks to gain full administrative control over the Starlink terminals, allowing it to run any custom code on the devices.

Sources: SCMP, Chin@Strategy, X

Germany seeks counter-space systems to neutralize Russia's Rassvet network ★

Germany's armed forces are assessing ground-based electronic warfare systems capable of disrupting satellite navigation and communications, as Russia develops its Rassvet satellite network.

Sources: United24media, hartpunkt, Defence Express

U.S. admits it has weapons in orbit

Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink made a bombshell admission this morning, disclosing that there are on-orbit weapons deployed right now to protect America's interests in space. Those weapons support a Space Control mission set, and the U.S. Space Force has now also shared additional details about that directly with TWZ.

Sources: TWZ, TV5 Monde Info

UK military jamming other nations' satellites to defend itself, BBC told

The U.K. has launched a special space unit amid growing concerns about the threats in orbit posed by Russia and other adversaries. In announcing the Royal Air Force's (RAF) Number 3 Space Effects Squadron, U.K. Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth warned of "serious questions about Russia's intent in space.

Sources: BBC, Euractiv, Euro News, Newsweek

IV. SPACE CYBERSECURITY REGULATIONS

Honeywell Aerospace Inc. agrees to pay over $2m to settle False Claims Act allegations of failing to comply with cybersecurity requirements in a U.S. Department of Defense contract

The Justice Department announced that Honeywell Aerospace Inc. has agreed to pay $2m to resolve allegations that it is liable under the False Claims Act for failing to comply with cybersecurity requirements in a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense.

Sources: Justice.GOV, The Washington Times

Governing the cybersecurity of the European space ecosystem: the EU space act, NIS2, and the contested boundaries of sectoral specialty

The "Space 4.0" transition — a crowded, commercialized, and contested orbital environment populated by new spacefaring nations and private operators — has made the cybersecurity of space infrastructure a governance problem rather than a technical one.

Source: frontiers

U.S. Senate passes satellite defense, cybersecurity bills

The Secure Space Act (S 1962), which was sponsored by Sens. Deb Fischer (R., Neb.) and Ben Ray Luján (D., N.M.), the respective chair and ranking member of the telecommunications and media subcommittee, passed the Senate by unanimous consent. The Senate also approved by unanimous consent the Satellite Cybersecurity Act (S 3404), which was sponsored by Sens. Gary Peters (D., Mich.) and John Cornyn (R., Texas).

Sources: Congress.gov, VitalLaw

V. SPACE CYBERSECURITY TECHNOLOGY

Arqit, Es'hailSat, and AIEE demonstrate the first quantum-safe satellite communication in the Middle East

Arqit Quantum Inc, a global leader in quantum-safe encryption, Es'hailSat — the Qatar Satellite Company — a world-class satellite operator and service provider with coverage spanning the MENA region, and Advanced International Electronic Equipment Company (AIEE), a specialist systems integrator for secure communications infrastructure, announced the successful demonstration of quantum-safe security across operational satellite communications infrastructures.

Source: KuwaitTimes

L3Harris says RASOR hybrid SATCOM reroutes U.S. military data around jamming and cyberattacks, targets NSA approval in early 2027

L3Harris Technologies expects its RASOR hybrid satellite communications system to receive NSA Type 1 certification in early 2027. The company is developing the system to keep command centers, aircraft, and deployed forces connected when individual satellite links are disrupted.

Source: Defence Industry Europe

Galileo's first civil authenticated position fix under spoofing conditions

For 2 hours on the afternoon of Wednesday, 16 September, five operational Galileo satellites broadcasting over Europe transmitted a new encrypted signal for testing. On the ground in Andøya, Norway, and at ESA's navigation laboratory at ESTEC, in the Netherlands, receivers successfully established their location using these encrypted signals, marking the first real-world positioning using Galileo's upcoming Signal Authentication Service (SAS).

Sources: ESA, Hackaday

VI. SPACE CYBERSECURITY TRAINING, EDUCATION, AND ACADEMIC WORLD

Managing critical ground infrastructure in contested environments

Ben Pigsley, President & CEO at US Electrodynamics Inc. (USEI), will share insights on one of the industry's most important topics at USEI about managing critical ground infrastructure in contested environments.

Source: LinkedIn

Space cybersecurity starts on the ground

Host Maria Varmazis speaks with ⁠Milenk Starcevic⁠, cybersecurity lead at ⁠Vision Space⁠, and ⁠Andrzej "Andy" Olchawa⁠, a space-focused offensive security professional, about the broader space cybersecurity attack surface. By considering all aspects of a space mission, both in orbit and on the ground, cybersecurity professionals can better understand where vulnerabilities exist and what measures can be taken to reduce risk.

Source: N2KCyberwire

CONCLUSION

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