WASHINGTON — The cybersecurity firm SpiderOak has signed an agreement with the U.S. Space Development Agency to research the usage of the corporate’s software to guard ground systems that control military satellites.
SpiderOak, a software company focused on satellite cybersecurity, said Oct. 17 the agreement is a so-called Other Transaction Authority contract. It allows the Space Development Agency (SDA) to research the mixing of the corporate’s OrbitSecure software suite right into a military ground system currently in development called the Rapid Resilient Command and Control program.
SDA, an agency under the U.S. Space Force, is constructing a big constellation of communications and missile-tracking satellites in low Earth orbit.
The Rapid Resilient Command and Control program, or R2C2 — a brand new initiative led by the Space Force’s Space Rapid Capabilities Office — is an effort to develop a contemporary software-based ground control system for military satellites.
SpiderOak’s technology is often known as zero-trust cybersecurity, where all data is encrypted and the encryption keys are only known to the client.
Contract value not disclosed
A spokesman for SpiderOak said the corporate just isn’t disclosing the worth of SDA’s contract or the performance period. “They’re variable and based on our success in delivering an exemplary zero-trust solution,” the spokesman said. “We expect a durable and growing project as we show OrbitSecure can safeguard satellite operations.”
SpiderOak previously demonstrated OrbitSecure on a Ball Aerospace prototype payload and on the International Space Station using an Amazon Web Services’ edge computing device provided by Axiom Space.
Dave Pearah, CEO of SpiderOak, said the corporate’s zero-trust mechanisms allow data to travel securely on networks and infrastructure with different owners and variable-security protocols.
“The Space Force desires to make sure that communications are secure and there are redundancies within the event an adversary attempts to poke holes in communications networks, that are increasingly depending on space,” he said.