Securing India’s Space Assets: Navigating Non-Traditional Challenges in the Cyber Era

S S Adwaith; Ashika S Prasad

doi:10.53989/jcp.v5i1.25.111

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Journal of Contemporary Politics

DOI: 10.53989/jcp.v5i1.25.111

Year: 2026, Volume: 5, Issue: 1, Pages: 14-22

Original Article

Securing India’s Space Assets: Navigating Non-Traditional Challenges in the Cyber Era

S S Adwaith¹, Ashika S Prasad^1*

¹Research Scholar, Department of Political Science, University of Kerala, Kerala, India

*Corresponding Author
Email: [email protected]

Received Date:26 November 2025, Accepted Date:06 January 2026, Published Date:31 March 2026

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The intensity, frequency and scale of cyber-attacks define the warfare of the 21st century, and this has triggered a series of economic, political and social adjustments from the local to the international arena. Cyber-attacks are an emerging threat to space security. With the growing reliance on automation, there is a high risk of external agencies interfering with the operation of the satellite, cutting off the communication system and trying to obtain confidential data from the satellite. This paper seeks to identify cyber threats to space assets and analyse their implications for India’s security, applying a realist perspective and focusing on China’s rise as a space-cyber power.

Keywords: Space Assets, Cyber Security, Space Security, India, China

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