The UK government has flagged growing cybersecurity concerns over the integration of satellite ground stations with cloud services, warning it could expose critical infrastructure to hackers.

A Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) study by Actica Consulting found that the rise of ground-station-as-a-service (GSaaS) could allow attackers to steal satellite data or disrupt essential services. Potential breaches could have physical consequences, including shifting satellite positions or disabling payloads, making them more damaging than standard IT intrusions.

“Space-ground systems have unique vulnerabilities, including timing attacks and command injection, which can be particularly critical during launch and other time-sensitive operations,” the report noted. While cloud integration can speed up data processing, DSIT warned that it may also expand attack surfaces by adding new interfaces and dependencies.

The findings come as Amazon prepares to launch its Kuiper satellite broadband service in the UK, working with Vodafone, Verizon, and Vrio. AWS Ground Station, unveiled in 2018, already lets operators send commands and downlink satellite data via the cloud, and has been tested with NASA, ESA, and JAXA to achieve near real-time processing.

But DSIT cautioned that “legacy systems also pose persistent vulnerabilities” and that unclear responsibility between cloud providers and operators could leave dangerous gaps. Misconfigurations or compromised interfaces could let attackers hijack command sequences or disrupt communications.

In Australia, experts have also raised alarms over Starlink’s low Earth orbit network. Cassandra Steer, chair for the Australian Centre for Space Governance, warned that “the easiest way to interfere with a satellite signal is cyber interference,” either through satellite hardware or ground stations.

Stakeholders interviewed for the UK study called for stronger authentication, encryption, and isolation measures, alongside greater support for smaller operators lacking in-house expertise. “Increased threat modeling, red teaming, and continuous monitoring can enhance security posture,” the report suggested.

With no current UK regulatory framework for ground station infrastructure, the report recommended licensing conditions requiring mitigations, supply chain checks, and third-party access restrictions to ensure GSaaS adoption.