Space and Cyber Security Highlights

Space Security Index 2018 tracks developments and activities in 2017 related to four indicators of the security of outer space – environmental sustainability, access to and use of space, technologies for space security, and space governance – to capture long-term changes. This newly released 15th volume of the annual report is striking for its illustration of the slide toward weaponization and warfare in the space domain. 

See the link below for remarks by Paul Meyer, The Simons Foundation Senior Fellow, at the "Cybersecurity Challenges in the Government Sphere – Ethical, Legal and Technical Aspects" CANVAS workshop at the University of Applied Sciences in Bern, Switzerland, Sept 5-6, 2018.

The Government of Canada recently released their first new national cyber security strategy since October 2010. See the following for commentary on the new strategy from Paul Meyer, The Simons Foundation’s Senior Fellow in Space and Cyber Security.

This conference was convened by The Simons Foundation at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Canada, on May 24, 2018, to consider the current state of the international cyber security policy discussion and its implications for conflict or peace in the vital, if vulnerable environment of cyberspace.

The 2018 Space Security Conference: "Space Security: The Next Chapter" was held May 7-8, 2018 at UNIDIR in Geneva to examine the existing framework for space governance to identify what aspects remain relevant to the emerging order in outer space, as well as what elements might be updated, in order to explore how the international community can start a new chapter of space security dialogue.

A US proposal to establish a new branch of its armed forces is challenging traditional approaches to space security. Visit Jane’s Intelligence Review for an examination of the implications for diplomatic efforts to prevent an arms race in space from Paul Meyer, Senior Fellow in Space and Cyber Security at The Simons Foundation.

The Government of Canada’s 2010 Cyber Security Strategy signaled that it would develop a cyber foreign policy but one has not been produced. In contrast, Australia has released a major cyber foreign policy document and outlined its diplomatic strategy for advancing its aims. Visit OpenCanada.org at the link below for commentary on this situation by Paul Meyer, Senior Fellow in Space Security, and his suggestion that Canada should follow Australia's lead in this vital realm of global policy.

Visit The Hill Times at the following link for a critical comparison of Canadian and Australian approaches to developing national cyber security strategies from Paul Meyer, The Simons Foundation’s Senior Fellow in Space Security.

Space Security Index 2017 is the fourteenth annual report on developments related to safety, sustainability, and security in outer space, covering the period January-December 2016. This assessment of the security of outer space warns of mounting stress from a combination of rapid technology change and geopolitical tensions.

Visit The Space Review for this commentary by Paul Meyer, The Simons Foundation's Senior Fellow in Space Security.