Developing Guidelines for Sustainable Spaceflight

In the early days of spaceflight, when only the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union had the ability to put an object into orbit, even the most fanciful of futurists would have had a hard time believing that commercial entities would one day be launching sixty satellites …read more

Continue reading Developing Guidelines for Sustainable Spaceflight

Descartes Labs snaps up $20M more for its AI-based geospatial imagery analytics platform

Satellite imagery holds a wealth of information that could be useful for industries, science and humanitarian causes, but one big and persistent challenge with it has been a lack of effective ways to tap that disparate data for specific ends. That’s created a demand for better analytics, and now, one of the startups that has […] Continue reading Descartes Labs snaps up $20M more for its AI-based geospatial imagery analytics platform

Why is DJI getting the Huawei treatment?

While a big portion of the current trade war is focused on tech giant Huawei, another company based in China has been battling U.S. government claims that its products present national security concerns. SZ DJI Technology, the world’s largest commercial drone maker, is facing a ban from all U.S. military purchases over cybersecurity concerns and allegations of links to the Chinese government. But while the company has long been accused of security issues — a threat level nudged up to a “national security threat,” as one Senate staffer told CyberScoop — few supporting details have emerged. There is no public evidence showing a link between mass swaths of U.S. user data falling into the hands of Chinese intelligence services, as has been suggested in Congressional testimony and a public intelligence report from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. But concerns over government use of commercial drones continues as the company moves to […]

The post Why is DJI getting the Huawei treatment? appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading Why is DJI getting the Huawei treatment?

At DEF CON’s aviation village, the military is interested in more than just the hacks

The first-ever aviation “village” at the DEF CON security conference has an F-35 fighter jet simulator among its hacking targets, but that’s not the only reason the Defense Digital Service’s newly minted chief, Brett Goldstein, is hanging around this corner of the convention hall in Las Vegas. The agency sees it as a recruiting opportunity, too. “In this room and throughout the convention is some of the best security talent in the world,” Goldstein tells CyberScoop. “This is a win for me if I can spark the imagination of this community, get them to understand we want to collaborate with them, that the problem space is fascinating, and this is something they should think about.” Right now the DDS, which ran its first bug bounty program in 2016, has approximately 70 employees, some of which are civilians and some of which are active-duty military. But they rotate in and out approximately […]

The post At DEF CON’s aviation village, the military is interested in more than just the hacks appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading At DEF CON’s aviation village, the military is interested in more than just the hacks

Think of satellites as big, vulnerable IoT devices, researcher says

Orbiting hunks of metal make it possible for billions of earthlings to benefit from marvels of the digital age, from GPS signals and weather monitoring systems to the communication protocols for credit card authorizations and other complex transactions. Humans take these satellite connections for granted, but new research suggests we’ll need to take important steps to keep it way. As of January there were at least 1,957 satellites in orbit, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, some of which are vulnerable to various levels of snooping and disruption, including jammed communications, data interception, data hijacking and outright takeovers. The issue is especially urgent now because of the coming wave of connected devices and the evolution of 5G cellular networks, said Bill Malik, vice president of infrastructure technologies at the security vendor Trend Micro, who presented research on satellite security Wednesday at the RSA cybersecurity conference. “We didn’t think about this much until the popularization of […]

The post Think of satellites as big, vulnerable IoT devices, researcher says appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading Think of satellites as big, vulnerable IoT devices, researcher says

The Government’s Secret UFO Program Funded Research on Wormholes and Extra Dimensions

Documents released by the Department of Defense reveal some of what its infamous Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program was working on. Continue reading The Government’s Secret UFO Program Funded Research on Wormholes and Extra Dimensions

US indicts alleged Chinese spies for hacking aerospace companies

The DOJ described five years of stealing turbofan engine designs that relied on insiders, state-sponsored hackers, phishing and malware. Continue reading US indicts alleged Chinese spies for hacking aerospace companies

Drones emerge as new dimension in cyberwar

It sounds a little bit sci-fi, but make no mistake: The next front in cyberwar is literally above your head. Military technology companies from around the world are rushing to design, build and sell drones that hack and track, while others want to own the business of hacking of the drones themselves. The burgeoning market is foreshadowing battles that could play out in the skies and, for some companies, bring significant profits. It’s an immature set of technologies — lots of marketing, precious few finished products — but there is a growing appetite for them. “This market is about to blow up,” said Francis Brown, a partner at the cybersecurity consultancy Bishop Fox. “Everybody’s trying to grab market share. The next year or two is going to decide who will become Pepsi and Coke out of all these products.” As an act of research, as opposed to selling a product, Brown and Bishop Fox […]

The post Drones emerge as new dimension in cyberwar appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading Drones emerge as new dimension in cyberwar

Hey NASA, Do You Want Your Stuff Back?

What would you do if you found hidden away artifacts of aerospace technology from the Apollo era?

You call NASA.

Two hulking computers — likely necessitating the use of a crane to move them — and hundreds of tape reels were discovered in the basement of a former IBM engineer by their heir and a scrap dealer cleaning out the deceased’s home. Labels are scarce, and those that are marked are mostly from the late 1960s through the mid 1970s, including data from the Pioneer 8 to 11 missions, as well as the Helios missions.

Erring on the side of …read more

Continue reading Hey NASA, Do You Want Your Stuff Back?

DHS, FBI Warn of North Korea ‘Hidden Cobra’ Strikes Against US Assets

DHS and the FBI warned that North Korean attackers are targeting U.S. businesses with malware- and botnet-related attacks that are part of concerted effort dubbed “Hidden Cobra.” Continue reading DHS, FBI Warn of North Korea ‘Hidden Cobra’ Strikes Against US Assets