Space Piracy: How a Future Risk Should Drive Action Today

The commercial development of space is proceeding at a brisk pace, with space on track to be a multi-trillion-dollar corporate domain within the next decade. With that comes the risk of crime and piracy. As of today, however, few if any space businesses or government entities have given much thought to mitigating this threat. This presentation offers deep insights into this multi-threaded challenge. In this presentation, the speakers will explore some critical issues and discuss possible solutions:

• How criminal gangs, such as international cartels, form a serious threat to space business
• The potential impacts of space piracy on space commerce, space mining, and space exploration
• Space piracy’s potential effects on space finance and insurance
• The current state of the US military and intelligence community (IC) regarding space piracy, and what can be done to raise the level of readiness to deal with the space piracy threat
• The deficient current state of space law and governance
• The gaps in existing treaties and the ramifications for spacefaring nations that need to combat space crime, piracy, and smuggling
• The potential for technologies such as AI in mitigating the space piracy threat

Space Money Laundering: The New Frontier of “Know Your Customer”

The Space economy, on track to pass the trillion-dollar mark by the end of the decade, is an ideal environment for money laundering. Space industry is inherently international, with opaque corporate entities pursuing high-dollar cross-border deals that are governed by few enforceable laws. It’s a money launderer’s dream come true. The risk of space money laundering affects financial institutions, space corporations, government agencies, and law enforcement. What can be done to mitigate this potential risk? This presentation will offer some insights and possible solutions. This presentation will discuss the following topics: - Why space is such a potentially appealing venue for money laundering - Space money laundering scenarios - The prospective players in space money laundering - The deficiency of current space law and law enforcement in combatting space money laundering - Potential solutions to the space money laundering problem

Space Piracy: How a Future Risk Should Drive Action Today

The commercial development of space is proceeding at a brisk pace, with space on track to be a multi-trillion-dollar corporate domain within the next decade. With that comes the risk of crime and piracy. As of today, however, few if any space businesses or government entities have given much thought to mitigating this threat. This presentation offers deep insights into this multi-threaded challenge. In this presentation, the speakers will explore some critical issues and discuss possible solutions:

• How criminal gangs, such as international cartels, form a serious threat to space business
• The potential impacts of space piracy on space commerce, space mining, and space exploration
• Space piracy’s potential effects on space finance and insurance
• The current state of the US military and intelligence community (IC) regarding space piracy, and what can be done to raise the level of readiness to deal with the space piracy threat
• The deficient current state of space law and governance
• The gaps in existing treaties and the ramifications for spacefaring nations that need to combat space crime, piracy, and smuggling
• The potential for technologies such as AI in mitigating the space piracy threat

Space Money Laundering: The New Frontier of “Know Your Customer”

The Space economy, on track to pass the trillion-dollar mark by the end of the decade, is an ideal environment for money laundering. Space industry is inherently international, with opaque corporate entities pursuing high-dollar cross-border deals that are governed by few enforceable laws. It’s a money launderer’s dream come true. The risk of space money laundering affects financial institutions, space corporations, government agencies, and law enforcement. What can be done to mitigate this potential risk? This presentation will offer some insights and possible solutions. This presentation will discuss the following topics: - Why space is such a potentially appealing venue for money laundering - Space money laundering scenarios - The prospective players in space money laundering - The deficiency of current space law and law enforcement in combatting space money laundering - Potential solutions to the space money laundering problem

Space Piracy and Its Impact on the Military and Intelligence Community

Leading figures from the defense and intelligence communities agree that crime and piracy in space are virtually inevitable. While the timeframe is difficult to predict, now is the time to be discussing strategies and policies that can mitigate these threats. In this presentation, the co- authors of “Space Piracy: Preparing for a Criminal Crisis in Orbit” (Wiley, 2025) examine the space piracy threat in the context of national security and intelligence. Specifically: - How nation state adversaries can leverage acts of piracy by non-state actors to attack the United States. - Deficiencies in US space policy and defense regarding the space piracy threat and what can be done about them. - Understanding the role of non-state actors such as criminal cartels and their potential impact on space industry and space as a war fighting domain.

Space Governance: Preparing for a New Way of Defining Sovereignty

Leading figures from the defense and intelligence communities agree that crime and piracy in space are virtually inevitable. While the timeframe is difficult to predict, now is the time to be discussing strategies and policies that can mitigate these threats. One underappreciated issue, however, is the challenge of governance in space. National sovereignty, law, and governance in space are, at best, vague. The costs and complexity of operating in space potentially allow for novel approaches to governance, some of which may run counter to establish norms and rights on earth.

In this presentation, the co-authors of “Space Piracy: Preparing for a Criminal Crisis in Orbit” (Wiley, 2025) examine the issue:

• The current state of governance in space and its various deficiencies
• Potential governance scenarios in space, e.g., the rise of a “British East India Company” in space
• What can be done today to avoid risks and crises in space governance in the future