Opening Address by Mr David Koh, Chief Executive of CSA at CYSAT Asia on 5 Feb 2026

Mr Patrick Trinkler, CEO of CYSEC

Ms Yong Ying-I, Chairman of SGInnovate

Dr Lim Jui, CEO of SGInnovate

Mr Jonathan Hung, Executive Director of the Office for Space Technology & Industry

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

Good morning.

Introduction

2.                  Thank you for the invitation to speak at the inaugural CYSAT Asia.

Key Message 1: Space and Satellite Systems Must be Trusted

3.                  Imagine you wake tomorrow to a world where space technology still exists, but its services cannot be relied upon.

a.      Your phone still locates you on a map, but you are not quite where it says you are.

b.      Emergency responders can still be reached – but the connection is “patchy”, and they show up to the wrong location.

c.      Ships and aircrafts are delayed, disrupting global logistics.

d.      Stock trades are not executed when they should have been, eroding confidence in global financial markets.

4.                  From the inception of Singapore’s Smart Nation ambitions, we have placed trust at the centre of how we want technology to serve society. It is especially essential that our space and satellite systems can be trusted, and reliable.

5.                  Today, space holds up our modern world.

a.      How we navigate, synchronise, communicate.

b.      How we monitor the Earth’s climate, oceans, and borders.

c.      How we respond to disasters, and insure risk.

d.      How we move capital.

e.      How we coordinate society.

6.                  The cybersecurity of space systems – and more fundamentally, our ability to trust and depend on them – is an imperative for national resilience, global connectivity, and our collective future.

7.                  CYSAT Asia represents a shared recognition of this fact. Here today are participants from across the space ecosystem – agencies, researchers, companies and startups. It is an opportunity to have conversations, exchange best practices, and collaborate on this important issue.

Key Message 2: The Challenges of Space Cybersecurity

8.                  Securing our space systems is no easy feat. Let me share some of the fundamental challenges.

9.                  First – space is a complex terrain.

a.      Many of our space and satellite systems are extraordinary feats of engineering. They represent peaks of human achievement.

b.      However, a large part of our global space ecosystem was built on technologies, architectures and assumptions from a very different era. An era when cybersecurity was not a core design requirement.

c.      This also means that the vulnerabilities that exist today are not just in orbit, but across the entire space value chain – our ground stations, control systems, terminals and management networks.

d.      We must tackle space cybersecurity not system-by-system, but as a vast network of interconnected systems – a system of systems, spanning different organisations, developers and end-users.

10.              Second – space is a growing terrain.

a.      Once the domain of just a few nations and companies, space is now a new frontier for many.

b.      Rapid technological advancements are accelerating the growth of the space industry, and satellite deployments.

c.      There is increasing demand for greater connectivity and location-based services, especially in remote and underserved areas.

d.      It is projected that the global space economy will roughly triple from US$630 billion in 2023, to US$1.8 trillion by 2035.

e.      This presents a growing attack surface, and greater urgency to ensure that security is “baked” into the design, deployment, governance, and life cycle management of these technologies. Security must be designed in, not bolted on.

f.        For example, when the telecom industry looks towards using non-terrestrial networks as an integral part of 6G, it is important that security-by-design considerations are extended to the space segment.

11.              Third – space is a contested and critical terrain.

a.      Today, space systems face modern, persistent and highly capable threat actors.

b.      Such systems are high-value targets, since they enable essential services.

c.      In February 2022, shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine, attackers gained access to the KA-SAT satellite broadband system.

                                  i.      While they did not attack the satellite itself, the attackers compromised ground-based management systems by exploiting a misconfigured VPN appliance.

                                 ii.      Subsequently, wiper malware was pushed out in the form of firmware updates to wipe critical data on thousands of modems across Ukraine and Europe, rendering them inoperable.

                               iii.       Thousands of users lost connectivity. Wind farms in Germany were disrupted. Emergency communications were affected.

d.      This incident showed us three important things.

                                  i.      First, space systems, as with any other system, are only as secure as their weakest component.

                                 ii.      Second, attackers do not need to reach orbit to cause orbital-scale impact.

                               iii.       Third, disruptions can have spillover impact. A successful attack is not just a single country’s problem, but a cross-border one.

Key Message 3: Partnership is Key

12.              Space, just like the Earth, is a shared domain. The actions of one actor can have consequences for many others. This is why norms, governance frameworks, and international cooperation are essential for keeping Space a safe and trusted domain for all.

13.              Singapore has long stood for a rules-based global order: one grounded in trust and responsible behaviour between nations.

a.      We have applied this principle in trade.

b.      We have applied it in cyberspace.

c.      And we must apply it in space too.

14.              Securing our space systems cannot be done in isolation. Space infrastructure operates across national boundaries, and creates vulnerabilities that no single entity can monitor alone. This technical reality of interconnectivity requires robust cross-border cooperation, multi-agency coordination and strong public-private partnerships.

15.              In Singapore, for example:

a.    Companies like SpeQtral are working with international partners, across research and industry, to develop satellite-based quantum key distribution (QKD) technologies.

b.    These can enable ultra-secure communications over long distances.

c.    SpeQtral’s efforts are supported by Singapore’s Office for Space Technology & Industry (or OSTIn).

d.    We need more of such partnerships around the world and in Singapore – to deepen capability and unlock collaboration.

16.              These efforts would not have been possible had they not been anchored in collaboration across borders and sectors. They demonstrate what is possible when innovation is guided by trust, and when security is treated as a shared responsibility.

17.              As you may have read in the newspaper earlier this week, Singapore is taking a step forward in our space journey. The National Space Agency of Singapore will be set up on the 1^st of April this year. This new agency will work with partners to seize opportunities in the expanding space economy and unlock the full potential of space technology applications for our national and regional needs.

Conclusion

18.              As we gather here at CYSAT Asia, we are not just discussing technical solutions. We are shaping the future of how space will be used, governed, and protected.

19.              The choices we make now in design, policy and partnerships will define the security and sustainability of the space domain for decades to come.

20.              Space holds immense promise, for connection, discovery and shared prosperity. But that promise can only be realised if space is secure, resilient and trusted.

21.              Our collective futures – not just the interests of individual nations – depend on building such strong partnerships between spacefaring nations, industry leaders, researchers and policy makers.

22.              I wish all of you will have an insightful time at CYSAT Asia. Together, let us chart a course towards a future where space is both safe and shared.

23.              Thank you.