CybExer, an Estonian cybersecurity company, is to play a key role in helping keep the EU’s future secure satellite connectivity system, IRIS² secure. It will lead a ten-company European consortium developing an end-to-end capability to test and validate protected satellite communications linked to IRIS². CybExer made the announcement last week.
As prime contractor, CybExer is working with CGI Estonia, CR14, DamoTech, Hellas Sat, KrattWorks, M3S Italia, Magister Solutions, Rantelon and Spaceit, bringing together companies from Estonia, Finland, Greece and Italy.
The new capability will make it possible to test across the full communications chain, from the satellite link and ground infrastructure to the end user, under realistic disruption and adversarial conditions – without putting operational systems at risk. Testing scenarios include satellite communications supporting drone operations and command and control in contested environments. Disruption to a satellite link can affect not only the aircraft but the wider communications chain through ground infrastructure to the operator.
IRIS² is now moving into full-scale deployment, with a main constellation of 348 satellites and a 12-year concession valued at 15.6 billion euros ($17.9 billion). It is intended to provide secure connectivity for governments and other critical users, including in situations where communications are disrupted or deliberately targeted.
“Once technology has been deployed in orbit, identifying weaknesses – and fixing them – becomes considerably more difficult. We need reliable evidence of how these systems behave under disruption and attack before they become part of critical operations. By bringing together expertise in space, telecommunications and cybersecurity, we can look beyond individual components and understand the resilience of the whole communications chain,” Kristiina Omri, Vice President of Special Programmes, CybExer, said in a statement.
