New research reports more than 237 cyber operations targeting space systems from 2023 to 2025.
Analysts warn hostile actors now threaten satellites and communications networks throughout ongoing conflict.
Researchers at ETH Zürich’s Center for Security Studies compiled data from news, social platforms, and cybercrime forums.
They tracked cyber activity directed at Israeli space assets and international agencies during the Gaza conflict.
Conflict Drives Surges in Space-Focused Cyber Activity
The study recorded the sharpest spike during the Israel–Iran escalation in June 2025, with 72 attacks in one month.
The report states cyber operations now emerge consistently in armed conflicts, echoing patterns seen in Ukraine.
Investigators identified nearly all threat actors as pro-Palestinian groups targeting space entities.
Hamas lacks satellites and space systems, and the study notes pro-Israel groups may have acted covertly.
Ten cyberattacks followed Hamas’s October 7 incursion in 2023, striking the Israel Space Agency and Rafael.
Hacktivists gradually organized and assembled target lists after initial surprise at the rapid escalation.
Attack Methods Reveal Growing Vulnerabilities
Hackers targeted 77 space organizations or companies during the Gaza conflict.
Rafael, Elbit Systems, and the ISA faced the highest volume of attacks, with NASA also included.
Most incidents struck aerospace and defense firms because of their military manufacturing roles.
More than 70 percent of operations used DDoS attacks to overwhelm systems quickly with minimal skill.
Other operations included data leaks, intrusions, and breaches, often timed to major conflict events.
The report warns open-source research likely captured only a fraction of total activity.
During the June 2025 Israel–Iran clash, pro-Palestinian and pro-Iranian groups simultaneously targeted Israel.
Threat actors borrowed tactics from other conflicts, replicating successful methods seen in Ukraine.
Researchers cite a 2023 attack in which the “Cyber Army of Palestine” reused code from Ukraine’s IT Army.
While most incidents caused limited physical impact, their pattern signals a future dominated by space-based cyber warfare.
The study concludes cyber operations now form consistent elements of modern conflicts and urges new protective strategies for space infrastructure.
