|
talksatellite EMEA |
.gif) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Daily news   |
CYSEC partners
with D-Orbit to fly end-to-end cybersecurity for
commercial space missions July 5 2021 CYSEC SA selected D-Orbit
and its ION Satellite Carrier to perform the
in-orbit demonstration of its product ARCA Space
in Q1 2022. Cybersecurity has not been
historically a priority for space engineers,
focusing on maximizing the available mass on
board rather than adding extra security
features. Today the situation is changing as
even small satellites are capable to collect
sensitive and valuable data, raising numerous
questions on the resilience of the ground and
space infrastructure against cyberattacks. CYSEC is a cybersecurity
company with a mission to offer commercial
satellite operators the first off[1]the-shelf
solutions protecting their assets and data
against cyber risks. Initially supported by the
ESA BIC programme of Switzerland, CYSEC is now
releasing “ARCA Space”, a full product portfolio CYSEC has selected D-Orbit,
a leader in the orbital transportation industry,
to test ARCA Space during their upcoming
December mission on board the ION Satellite
Carrier. ION is the orbital transportation
vehicle designed, manufactured, and operated by
D-Orbit to transport a batch of satellites in
space, and deploy them with precision in their
operational orbital slot. ION’s unique
integrated capabilities also enable the
spacecraft to perform in-orbit demonstration
(IOD) services for third-party hosted payloads,
such as ARCA Space. ARCA Space is using the
Linux-based hardened operating system developed
by CYSEC. It features a cryptographic service
and a key management system, both accessible via
a simple API, and is capable to source secrets
from a certified Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
on board, ensuring an unprecedented level of
protection of the cryptographic keys used for
example to encrypt payload or telemetry and
telecommand (TMTC) data. The operating system
also features a secure boot mechanism, rooted
directly at the CPU level to ensure the
integrity of the code executed on board
preventing any tampering, malware, or backdoor
on the spacecraft. Protecting the secrets as
well as the software is critical today as
satellites are increasingly software[1]defined,
making them more agile, flexible, autonomous,
and smart but also more vulnerable to cyber
threats. ARCA Space has also the advantage to
ensure full isolation on board between different
streams of data, a critical feature for
“Satellite as a service” missions with multiple
users sharing a common platform, or missions
with “edge computing” capabilities.The ARCA
Space IOD mission is scheduled for December
2021. The IOD will consist in testing all the
security mechanisms embedded in the product
using representative scenarios, like the secure
communication of TMTC data or sensitive Earth
Observation data captured on board. The data
will be received on ground in the CYSEC private
cloud for storage and processing, mimicking a
real mission requiring end-to-end protection. Mathieu Bailly, heading the
space activities at CYSEC commented: “All the
team is super excited to finally have a launch
date in December. I am convinced ARCA Space will
be a game-changer for the industry as many
services provided by satellites involve
collecting and transmitting sensitive data. Our
goal is to turn security into an enabler, a USP
our clients can use to win the trust of their
own clients in addition to protecting their
assets. D-Orbit ticked all the boxes to become a
strategic partner, ION is a modern carrier with
a very strong market traction and with a lot of
synergies to address customers Matteo Lorenzoni, Launch
Strategy Manager at D-Orbit commented: “We are
very happy to have the opportunity to test ARCA
Space over the course of our next mission.
Needless to say, cybersecurity is a fundamental
and critical aspect of our industry and working
with Cysec on this initiative will constitute
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
