A non-terrestrial network (NTN) is a mobile network architecture that uses satellites, high-altitude platforms, or other assets above the ground to extend connectivity beyond cell towers. In practice, NTN lets phones, IoT devices, and remote sites connect through space-based or airborne links when terrestrial coverage is weak, unavailable, or damaged.
NTNs matter in cyber security because they add new trust boundaries: radio spectrum, gateways, carrier cores, identity systems, and emergency-routing paths all have to work together. Attackers may try to disrupt or spoof links, jam signals, abuse misconfiguration, or target the ground segment that bridges NTN traffic into normal networks. Defenders use NTNs for resilient communications, disaster recovery, remote monitoring, and backup access, but only when authentication, routing, and failover are tested end to end.