Space Cybersecurity | Executive Education

Why space cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity literacy is becoming increasingly vital to leaders across an array of industries, sectors, and nations. Cyber attackers, ranging from hactivists to organized crime networks and even nation states, are targeting vulnerable networks and are frequently successful in stealing funds as well as valuable intellectual property.

At the same time, there is a booming demand across both the public and private sectors for interns and employees with this training, with more than 700,000 openings for cybersecurity professionals. There is a particular need for more professionals with training in space cybersecurity, given the reliance on space-based infrastructure for everything from weather forecasting and satellite telecommunications to broadband Internet. The reliance and growing ubiquity of space to cybersecurity, the Internet, and data governance is raising a host of questions surrounding how best to protect vulnerable space-based critical infrastructure from cyberattacks.

Since Russia’s cyberattacks on space-based services provided by commercial US space companies as part of the war in Ukraine, cybersecurity of space systems is high on the agenda, spurring discussions at the White House and in Congress, and a US $700 million budget request by the Space Force for this purpose alone. At the same time, a fast-growing market has emerged, with demand for professionals and firms.

The Kelley Space Cybersecurity Digital Badge is the first program in the United States, and indeed globally, to offer specialized focus on protecting the cybersecurity of space assets. At the end of the program, participants will have the capability to develop and implement effective strategies for managing cyber risks to space-based infrastructure. They will also gain in-depth understanding of cyber threats, and how to manage related issues including supply chain security and the impacts of AI.

Upcoming dates

Upcoming dates:
February 17 to April 28, 2025 (excluding the week of March 17 for Spring Break)
Wednesdays, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. ET
Price: $3,995
Duration: 10 weeks
Delivery: Online

Showcase your new skills

Upon completing this program, you will earn a digital badge to showcase your skills on platforms like LinkedIn. This credential demonstrates to your network the concrete and in-demand skills you gained from participating in this Kelley program.

“As an active-duty service member, I found this course to be critical in understanding the cyber security challenges that we face with our space systems. I gained a deeper understanding of the space-cyber nexus and was able to immediately apply the skills I learned at work.”

Major Mahesa B. SuproboCyber Test Project Officer, United States Space Force

Learning objectives

After successfully completing this digital badge program, participants will:

Be prepared to manage the multifaceted cyber threat facing the private sector with a focus on space-based assets.
Be equipped with a toolbox of cybersecurity best practices designed to manage the cyber risk exposure facing the public and private sectors.
Have a firm introduction to US cybersecurity law and policy including what emerging due diligence standards mean for your business.
Know the contours of important cybersecurity debates such as the appropriate role of government in safeguarding space as critical infrastructure.
Understand the technical, supply chain, and geopolitical challenges associated with space cybersecurity.
Further develop the confidence necessary to work well collaboratively on interdisciplinary cybersecurity solutions.

Curriculum

This program lasts 10 weeks and consists of a 60 minute live virtual session and one to two hours of asynchronous work each week. Each course will be independently taught by an industry professional and the program leads. The topics are as follows:

Introduction to Space Cybersecurity
Identifying the Threats & Lessons from the War in Ukraine
Systems & Supply Chain Security
Incident Response & Information Sharing
Innovation & Cyber Resilience in Aerospace
Designing & Implementing a Mitigation Strategy
Risk Management of Space Cybersecurity & Space Attack Research and Tactic Analysis (SPARTA)
Compliance & US Law and Policy of Space Cybersecurity
Geopolitics of Space & International Space and Cybersecurity Norms, Law & Policy
Capstone Simulation

After successful completion of an assurance of learning at the conclusion of the program, participants may earn credit waivers (3 credit hours) toward the IU MS in Cybersecurity Risk Management.

Expectations

Participants are expected to participate in live 60-minute synchronous session and one-to two hours of asynchronous work each week and complete the associated five-question quiz after each session. To earn the Space Cybersecurity Digital Badge, participants must complete at least eight of the 10 quizzes with a score of at least 80%. A maximum of two attempts per quiz will be allowed.

To earn credit waivers for completing the series, a student must have participated in 80% of the sessions with average marks of at least 80% on the quizzes and pass the final exam. The exam will be comprised of 10 true/false questions, 10 multiple choice questions, and two short essay questions. As with the quizzes, a student must earn at least 80% on the exam to earn credit, and only one retake will be permitted. Payment will be required in advance of a student taking the final exam.

Format

In addition to the live, synchronous sessions, supplemental content will be provided in the form of short, targeted weekly readings and supplemental readings and asynchronous discussion forums. When possible, we will record sessions at the Kelley School of Business in order to present material that requires special effects or multimedia.

Alternative ways to earn the badge will be made available upon request to accommodate, for example, professional and personal conflicts. These will include developing a cyberattack postmortem that investigates how an organization responded to a real-world data breach, and what they could have done better.

Meet the instructors

Courses will be delivered by Professor Scott Shackelford, executive director, Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research at Indiana University, and Dr. Eytan Tepper, as well as guest lecturers from the National Cybersecurity Center, the Department of Homeland Security, Space ISAC (Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center), The Aerospace Corporation, Microsoft, DHS, Blue Origin, and more.

Scott J. Shackelford, PhD, JD

Scott J. Shackelford, PhD, JD, is associate professor of business law, chair of the IU Bloomington Cybersecurity Program, executive director of the Ostrom Workshop, and director of the workshop’s Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance. He also is an affiliated scholar at both the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Stanford’s Center for Internet and Society, as well as a senior fellow at the Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, and a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Scott, author of The Internet of Things: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2020), has written more than 100 articles, book chapters, essays, and op-eds for diverse outlets ranging from the University of Illinois Law Review and the American Business Law Journal to the Christian Science Monitor and HuffPost. His research has been covered by diverse outlets, including Politico, NPR, Forbes, Time, Forensic Magazine, Law360, Washington Post, and the L.A. Times. He is also the author of Managing Cyber Attacks in International Law, Business, and Relations: In Search of Cyber Peace (Cambridge University Press, 2014). Both his academic work and teaching have been recognized with numerous awards, including a Harvard University Research Fellowship, a Stanford University Hoover Institution National Fellowship, a Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study Distinguished Fellowship, the 2014 Indiana University Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, and the 2015 Elinor Ostrom Award.

Dr. Eytan Tepper

Dr. Eytan Tepper is a visiting assistant professor and director of the Space Governance Lab at Indiana University Bloomington, where he is affiliated with the Ostrom Workshop established by Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom and teaches Space-Cyber Governance at the Maurer School of Law and Space Governance at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is also program director for Indiana University’s new Space-Cyber Security Certificate Program. Dr. Tepper earned his doctorate from the McGill University Institute of Air and Space Law and subsequently pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at the New York University (NYU) School of Law. His approach is transdisciplinary and he leads several projects funded by grant agencies in the U.S. and Canada: “Space – Cyber Governance”, “Corporate Sovereigns: The Governance of Space Exploration Corporations”, and “Polycentric Multilateralism: Reimagining the Roles of International Institutions in Space Governance and Beyond”. Dr. Tepper has published in journals like the Maryland Law Review, the NYU Journal of International Law and Politics, Journal of Space Law, Space Policy Journal, and New Space Journal and has two book contracts with Cambridge and Springer. Prior to his return to academe, he was a practicing lawyer with a career spanning the public and private sectors, representing government ministries and Fortune 500 companies.

Questions? We're here to help.

Email us at keep@iu.edu with any questions you may have, and a member of our team will be happy to assist you.