Several US security agencies have warned that intelligence groups in Russia and China attempt to steal confidential information from US space companies. The goal, they say, is access business and research data that could serve to boost the space programs of their own countries.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Center for Counterintelligence and Security (NCSC) and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) issued this Friday a newsletter with the warning. They ensure in the document that foreign entities organize cyber attacks to access key information. They also warn against making strategic investments through third-party companies to gain access to the US space industry.
Although the agencies do not clarify in the report where these threats come from, a US counterintelligence official confirmed to Reuters What is feared from Russia and China. “We anticipate increasing threats to this flourishing sector of the American economy,” said this source. He added: “China and Russia are among the top foreign intelligence threats to the US space industry.”
Both China and Russia have greatly boosted their space projects in recent years. Russia is about to become the first country to land a space probe on the south pole of the Moon. China, for its part, launched its own space station two years ago and is preparing its first manned voyage to the lunar surface by 2030.
The threat from Russia and China to the US
The document warned US space companies to be careful about requests for facility tours. He also asked that they be very prudent in conferences or similar events, which could be used to collect confidential information.
In addition to NASA, which is a government agency, private space companies such as SpaceXled by Elon Musk, and blue origin, founded by Jeff Bezos. These foreign attempts “may harm US business entities and the broader US economic and national security,” the government agencies’ warning reads.
The bulletin claims that employees of these space companies are also at risk of being recruited through foreign travel offers. It also asks to be attentive to requests for consulting work and the payment of financial incentives in exchange for confidential information. In the face of any suspicion, space companies must inform the FBI or AFOSI.
NASA chief Bill Nelson acknowledged last May that China’s space program posed a threat to them. “We are living a space race” said in interview with El País and El Mundo. NASA is preparing the Artemis mission, with which it hopes to return humans to the south pole of the Moon in 2025.
The possibility of finding water in the form of ice in this unexplored part of the satellite is what is mobilizing the US, Russian and Chinese programs with such enthusiasm. “We want to preserve those potential reserves for the international community, and prevent China from coming in and claiming that the water is theirs,” Nelson said. Although China’s mission is scheduled for 2030, the official said you never know: “China may actually be planning to arrive earlier.”