Panel warns of growing threats to smallsat constellations

The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Space ISAC) watch center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Credit: Space ISAC

SALT LAKE CITY – Small satellites face growing threats because potential adversaries recognize their expanding role in providing communication, Earth-observation and navigation services, a panel of satellite and cybersecurity experts said at the 2026 Small Satellite Conference.

“What we’ve seen in the last three years is the operationalization of a lot of these systems turning into either national security capabilities or commercial capabilities that are revenue positive,” Brandon “BT” Cesul, Umbra senior business development manager, said Aug. 25 during a panel on threats to “the SmallSat Revolution.”

Growing revenues attract investors and help companies establish and expand constellations.

People should keep in mind, though, that “dense constellations concentrate capability as well as risk,” said Erin Miller, architect and executive director of the Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC), a nonprofit that shares information on vulnerabilities, incidents and threats.