It's called the Infrastructure Asset Pre-Assessment (IA Pre).
The program will give the United States Air Force a major role in commercial satellite communications and a greater assurance around their cybersecurity.
Troops on the ground, in the air, and at sea all depend on satellite communications, and this is an effort to secure those against cyberattacks.
Starting in 2020, the Air Force Space Command's commercial satellite communications office will start rating the cybersecurity of providers with the goal of protecting military networks.
SpaceNews covered the story:
The idea behind IA-Pre is to satisfy government demands for cybersecurity in satcom networks without unduly burdening companies with red tape, D'Uva said. "With IA-Pre you'll be able to get pre-assessed by a third party. Once that's done there will be no more paperwork."
He said the program is an important step toward the integration of commercial and military satcom systems, something that the industry has pushed for. Giving the Air Force assurance that commercial systems are safe is part of that process, D'Uva said. "We’re doing this so comsatcom and milsatcom can move to a common architecture."
