The growing threat of cyber-attacks and network hacking has
reached the satellite-space sector, posing a growing challenge
to satellite fleet operators and raising questions as to whether
commercial satellites will in the future need to be “hardened”
to the standard of the most secure military satellites. Although
the threat of cyber-attacks emanates from several nations, non-
state actors and even individuals, a significant amount of
attention has focused on the role of People’s Republic of China
(China).    The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review
Commission (USCC), a U.S. Congressional commission charged with
monitoring the trade and economic relationship between the U.S.
and China and assessing its security implications, issued an
annual report in August 2011 (available at that concluded that
computer hackers, possibly affiliated with China’s military, had
interfered with two U.S. government earth terrain and climate
surveillance satellites, Landsat-7 and Terra AM-1, several times
in 2007 and 2008. In o