In the fourth Star Trek series, Voyager, overlaps with the third series (Deep Space Nine) in the late 90’s and into the new millennium. But this series will not take place in the same area of space that the three previous series did. In fact, it will go down as the longest away mission in Starfleet history.

Captain Kathryn Janeway (the first woman to rise to the rank of Captain in the Star Trek franchise Supptelevision series) takes her state-of-the-art new vessel out for a spin in her first command. Things immediately go awry as Voyager is whisked away and taken 70,000 light years away from home across the other side of the galaxy to the Delta Quadrant by a powerful alien entity.

Voyager isn’t the only ship from the Alpha Quadrant whisked away. A Maquis raider (who Voyager was chasing when transported to the Delta Quadrant) is also taken and the two crews are forced to merge and work together when the Maquis ship is destroyed in the escape from the alien. Together they face a 75-year journey to get back to Earth.

Over the course of the series, the merged crews on board Voyager are forced to become resourceful as supply lines from home have been cut off. They encounter new races and worlds, some friendly and some not, while gaining new crew members and losing some along the way. They are forced to trade and barter supplies and find new and innovative ways to cut time off their journey. Eventually making it home in an astounding seven years instead of 75.

We can take lessons from what Voyager experienced in our own world today. Not that we are going across the galaxy anytime soon but hey, new images from NASA this week sure make things interesting, don’t they? The supply chain crisis going on for the last two plus years has affected nearly everyone in some form or another, from delays in getting routine household items to building supplies to car parts and everywhere in between.

Cybersecurity is an area where supply chain can often be overlooked. Enterprises aren’t adequately preparing for supply chain threats. CISOs and risk officers don’t put it towards the top of the list of threats, but they should. It begs the question of how secure is your digital supply chain? RSA Conference features numerous blog, podcast and webcast content on supply chain that can be found here. Some recent relevant pieces include identifying and navigating supply chain risk as well as understanding what’s in our software.

Just as the crew of Voyager had to do in this series by getting creative, becoming resourceful and staying patient, we must do the same in today’s world to protect our most critical assets. Tough times pass and this is no different.

Note: This is part four of a seven-part series looking at the primary Star Trek franchise television series.
Part 1: To Boldly Go Where No One (or No Ransomware) Has Gone Before
Part 2: Star Trek: TNG Foreshadows Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Part 3: Stark Trek: DS9 Training and Awareness in a Remote Outpost