A satellite communications network, or SATCOM network, routes data and voice traffic through satellites, ground stations, and connected user terminals. The satellite link is only one part of the system; control planes, authentication services, routing equipment, and operator consoles on the ground are equally important.
In cyber security, this matters because attackers rarely need to target the satellite itself. They may attack administrative access, terrestrial gateways, software updates, or trust relationships between operators and customer equipment. Defenders focus on segmentation, strong identity controls, monitoring, and recovery planning so the network can keep operating if one layer is compromised. Resilience testing is especially important because failures can affect many remote users at once.