LAUSANNE, Switzerland – December 2019. Astrocast selected CYSEC to design and implement the architecture providing end-to-end security for its global, two-way, IoT satellite communication system, from the end customer, to the 80 satellites of the constellation and all-the-way to the IoT terminals on ground and oceans.
Astrocast selected CYSEC to design and implement the architecture providing end-to-end security for its global, two-way, IoT satellite communication system, from the end customer, to the 80 satellites of the constellation and all-the-way to the IoT terminals on ground and oceans.
The contract signed by the two companies follows an initial phase of risk assessment and will focus on the improvement of the forward link security regarding communications from the mission control center via the satellites to the terminals on the ground.
Astrocast has been working on securing its infrastructure since the very beginning, with technologies such as AES-256 encryption of user data, authentication of data, access controls and separation of networks. This however remains a complex task considering the many constraints to be taken into account. As Federico Belloni, Astrocast CTO, explains: “the economics of a satellite IoT communication system is critically dependent on the efficient management of resources, both in the terminal and on the satellite. Hence, processing, memory and power that can be dedicated to security must be kept minimal. Finding the perfect trade-off and approach is difficult and requires skillful experts at the forefront of cybersecurity technologies, both in hardware and software.”
Astrocast’s value proposition is at the crossroad between IoT and Space, two markets where CYSEC wants its products to become the new benchmark, allowing to easily and quickly implement cybersecurity for innovative services.
Mathieu Bailly, VP IoT and Space confirms the ambition of CYSEC: “Newspace -with thousands of small satellites to be launched- and IoT -connecting billions of objects- are emerging markets where cybersecurity needs to be reinvented. We want to set the new standard, as flexible and easy as the cloud but as secure as the traditional hardware.”
About Astrocast
Astrocast SA is building a constellation of 80 nano-satellites to provide global, two-way IoT communication services at very low cost. It is the first satellite telecom operator operating from Switzerland. Astrocast recently announced the upcoming launch of 10 more satellites on board PSLV launch vehicles in early 2020 that will allow Astrocast to enter into commercial service.
About CYSEC SA
CYSEC SA is a cybersecurity company based at the EPFL Innovation Park in Lausanne, Switzerland, whose family of Trusted Execution Environment servers helps companies securely launch innovative services at a fraction of the time and cost of existing solutions.