According to SpaceNews, Deloitte launched its first cyber defense satellite named Deloitte-1 in March, with plans to operate nine spacecraft over the next 18 months. The consulting firm is demonstrating its Silent Shield technology to detect cyber intrusions targeting satellites directly in orbit rather than just ground systems. Space-related cyber incidents have surged 118% in 2025 compared to 2024, with 117 publicly reported attacks from January through August alone. Retired U.S. Air Force Major General Bradley Pyburn, now at Deloitte, emphasized that defenders “have to be perfect everywhere” while attackers “only have to get it right once.” The system uses out-of-band detection that can’t be used to attack the satellite itself, with Deloitte testing 20 different threat profiles against its own spacecraft.
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The stakes are astronomical
Here’s the thing – we’re not just talking about someone hacking your Netflix stream. We’re talking about critical infrastructure that runs everything from GPS and banking systems to military communications and emergency services. When Ryan Roberts from Deloitte talks about ransomware against satellite constellations, he’s describing a scenario where criminals could literally hold global communications hostage. And honestly? That’s not science fiction anymore.
The 2022 Viasat attack during Russia’s Ukraine invasion was the wake-up call. Russian hackers didn’t even bother with the satellites themselves – they went after the ground modems. As Google’s Ron Bushar noted, it was “very precise, and it was effective.” That’s the scary part. Attackers don’t need fancy space weapons when they can achieve their goals through simpler means. And now with Space ISAC reporting that attacks have more than doubled in a single year, the problem is accelerating faster than anyone predicted.
The impossible math of space security
Pyburn nailed it with that asymmetry comment. Defenders have to protect every single point – ground stations, uplinks, downlinks, the satellites themselves, cross-links between satellites. Meanwhile, attackers just need one vulnerability. One.
That’s why the traditional compliance approach isn’t cutting it anymore. Timothy Zentz from Nightwing put it perfectly: you can build a “perfectly RMF-approved, CRMC-approved, defensible system, and then the adversary gets a vote.” Compliance checkboxes don’t stop determined hackers, especially when, as Zentz suspects, “the threats are probably advancing more rapidly than the solutions.”
Deloitte’s clever approach
So what makes Silent Shield different? It’s essentially a cybersecurity camera for satellites that can’t be turned against its host. The out-of-band design means it only listens – it can’t talk back to the satellite. If hackers compromise the Silent Shield payload, they’re stuck there. They can’t use it as a launching point to take over the actual satellite.
Roberts explained they’re literally hacking their own satellite with 20 different attack profiles to test the system. That’s the kind of real-world testing that’s been missing from space cybersecurity. And honestly, it’s about time someone started treating satellites like what they are – as Roberts noted, “computers with solar panels on them” that currently lack basic protections.
Where this is all heading
Look, we’re at a turning point. The Salt Typhoon campaign showed Chinese hackers moving from traditional telecom to satellite providers. Nation-states are treating space as a “contested environment,” as Pyburn described it. And with private companies launching constellations by the thousands, the attack surface is exploding.
The real question isn’t whether more attacks will happen – they will. The question is whether the defense community can scale solutions fast enough. Deloitte’s move is significant because it shows major players are finally investing real money in orbital defense rather than just ground-based protection. But as one consultant turned space defender told me recently, “We’re building the lifeboats while the ship is already taking on water.” Let’s hope they build fast.
