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Securing Interplanetary NetworksIf you have been watching the news recently, you have seen that there is a growing interest in space exploration and colonizing places such as the Moon or perhaps even Mars. These efforts are continuing to bring up questions about how we are going to deal with IT Security in an age when the use of networks and infrastructure are critical to human survival on these alien worlds. How do we deal with these issues? These are just some of the questions that we will have to answer in the coming years of space exploration. Space Networks We will need to have secure and reliable computer networks that will integrate with the terrestrial network that we have here on Earth. These space networks need to be able to use various methods to transmit data. Whether it is to plug into the satellite network, or the use of an on-planet integrated network like on Mars or the Moon. The international community will have to adopt these protocols and standards that address inherent issues associated with communications from space. We will want to get that data to others that may most likely be out of the same network. This means that the data will have to be transmitted out of network to a designated location. These networks or network segments will just need to work, and work reliably all the time. The interoperability of these networks will ensure that the communications and data that are sent over them will function, even if they are transmitted back here on Earth. Delayed Transmission When it comes to outer space, distance is one of the biggest hurdles that will need to overcome. It takes time to get from one point to another and that time adds up. The further you are away from the Earth, the longer it will take for those signals or transmissions to make the trip to the Internet. While the Interplanetary Internet is still in its infancy, we need to make sure that IT Security issues are addressed right from the outset. There will be times that the transmission may be delayed due to where it is being sent from, and so that data will be vulnerable to potential attack and compromise. Sending back valuable information to the Earth about specific details on resources available could potentially be profitable to the right people. This is even more reason why we need to make the security of the Interplanetary Internet even more of a priority. Best Practices for Space Just like here on Earth, there will be some best practices that we can employ when looking at the Interplanetary Internet. Some of them are:
Life or Death Networking When it comes to working and soon to be living off planet. It is important that the computer network is working and functional for those that are dependent on it for their survival. Whether it is monitoring the habitat or the space weather, those individuals that are dependent on it will want to make sure that the information is accurate and correct. If there is a compromise of the habitat or an air lock, people may die because of it. Space travel and planetary colonization is dependent on things that work and that have redundancies built in due to the potential for things to go wrong. This is especially true when it comes to developing the colony on Mars. It will take at least seven months for help to arrive, and by then things might have already gone wrong. Pushing out to the planets and the stars will stretch our ability to maintain communications, but it is now that we need to work on making them secure. Summary It is an exciting time to live in the world that is on the brink of a world-changing event such as creating a colony on the Moon or even Mars. What was once science fiction will become science fact as we start to fill in the gaps in our textbooks. Humanity has had so many questions about how we develop life beyond our planet, now we will actually start working on those answers. Moreover, computers and computer networks will play a major role in the ability of those brave space pioneers to accomplish their missions. We must do everything in our power to secure them and make sure that they can depend on them to work when they need them to. Article Update: 03/22/2019 On March 2, 2019 at 2:49 a.m. ET Elon Musk's SpaceX crew Dragon spaceship docked with the International Space Station (ISS) in an unmanned automated mission to certify the spacecraft. This was a momentous occasion for NASA as they will be certifying the first private space company to ferry astronauts to space by not having to rely on the Russian Space Agency to get American astronauts into space. The Crew Dragon Spaceship was not the only thing launched to the ISS, a dummy was also on-board as well. The next step is to have a human crew on-board the Crew Dragon Spaceship, which as of the date of this post has not been determined yet. With all of the exciting things going on in space, things are looking up for continued exploration of space on a timeline that is both aggressive and achievable.
Technology is playing an important role in all of this progress in space. Networks and communications are becoming an integral part of moving our exploration out into space, but not just above the Earth, but also on the Moon and Mars too. How we are going to communicate and network these distant locals will be important as we start to develop both the means and the spacecraft to go there. It will be important to work with all of the various countries, and businesses to establish international standards on how networks will be setup and configured. Competition in Space Its not just private companies that are going to space either, it is countries like Israel, China, and India that have made the jump into space exploration. How are all these companies and countries gonna talk to one another? With rivalries here on Terrra Firma ratcheting up, we can only imagine what it will be like in space. Will each country put up their own infrastructure and nobody else will be able to use it? These are questions that need to be asked and worked out before we run into these issues. IT Security is also playing an important role as well. It is helping to establish various protocols and guidelines for organizations to follow. When the international community starts to piece together all of these various pieces, they will be able to have a robust infrastructure in which to rely on. Establishing space relay stations for communications into deep space will allow the time that data normally takes from one location to another in space to be cut down, and also boosting the signal strength at the same time. This will be important to work on together, not as just one nation, but also as a global community. Comments are closed.
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