Cornell research informs cybersecurity executive order

An executive order issued Jan. 16 by the White House addresses critical vulnerabilities across multiple cybersecurity domains, and includes a section addressing the security of space systems that was significantly influenced by Gregory Falco '10, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in Cornell Engineering.

The "Executive Order on Strengthening and Promoting Innovation in the Nation's Cybersecurity" was the result of an intensive monthslong review by the Biden administration of hacking by criminals and foreign governments during the past four years. One such incident was Russia's alleged disruption of a satellite system that provided high-speed communications to Ukraine in the hours before Russia's February 2022 invasion of that country.

The executive order establishes minimum cybersecurity standards aimed at safeguarding the interconnected computing systems used by satellites and other orbital technologies. It also mandates the integration of cybersecurity measures into the design and acquisition processes, ensuring that vulnerabilities are addressed before deployment. While the timing of the order, which remains in effect, leaves its long-term implementation uncertain amid political division, the inclusion of space cybersecurity signals a recognition of its importance in safeguarding national interests.

"We've spent the better part of a year carefully reviewing incidents to determine exactly how the Chinese and other criminals got through the gate," said Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging tech at the National Security Council. "These new policies and procedures put the next administration and the country on a path to continued success and make it costlier and harder for China, Russia, Iran and ransomware criminals to hack."

Falco, who is also an assistant professor of systems engineering (Cornell Engineering), was lead author on a July 2024 paper presented at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) International Conference on Space Mission Challenges for Information Technology. The paper, "Minimum Requirements for Space System Cybersecurity - Ensuring Cyber Access to Space," proposed a scalable method for developing minimum technical requirements for space systems.

Once the paper was released, the White House contacted Falco and remained in close contact with staffers as the space systems section of the executive order was formulated. Falco, who is chair of the IEEE Standard Association's Space System Cybersecurity Working Group, is an internationally recognized expert in the field. An earlier paper of his, "Cybersecurity Principles for Space Systems," was the basis for a previous executive order issued during the first Trump administration.

"The Trump executive order - Space Policy Directive 5 - was groundbreaking at the time," Falco said. "But in the end it was voluntary, and the commercial and civil space sector didn't really know what to do with it. The current executive order makes the new requirements mandatory for NASA and their contractors."

Falco added that the new executive order is a step toward adopting forthcoming standards for cybersecurity design specifications for space systems. "If you have acquisition language with design requirements, things will actually get done," Falco said.

Space avionics, the design and study of the many interconnected computing systems used by satellites, is a relatively new field. Even newer is the field of space cybersecurity.

"Traditionally, academia has drawn firm boundaries between fields of study," Falco said. "It's pretty hard to find people who actually know anything about aerospace and also know cybersecurity. With this work, we are hoping to fill that gap and bring our expertise to bear on important policy decisions. I want our students to know that engineering can inform policy."

Several of Falco's co-authors on the 2024 IEEE paper that was the basis for part of the new executive order are members of his lab, including doctoral students Nicolò Boschetti, Cameron Mehlman, Rajiv Thummala and Matteo Calabrese.

Chris Dawson is a communications specialist for Cornell Engineering.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.