Space ISAC and National Cybersecurity Center Announce SES Joining as Founding Member
New Information Sharing and Analysis Center Adds Fourth Founding Member to Board
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, October 23, 2019 – The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) was announced on April 8, 2019, during a classified session at the 35th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, CO. Today, the Space ISAC and the National Cybersecurity Center (NCC) announced SES has joined the Space ISAC as the ISAC’s newest founding member. SES joins Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS), Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH), and MITRE as a founding member, and its Vice President of Group Information and Cyber Security, Andre Adelsbach, will serve on the Space ISAC board of directors.
The Space ISAC is the only space-dedicated ISAC and is made possible through the investment by its board and founding members. SES will bring its cybersecurity perspective and experience as a leading satellite-based communications service provider and will spearhead the promotion of Space- ISAC in Europe.
NCC is recognized as a leader in cybersecurity and brings together leaders from across the globe at its annual Cyber Symposium. Together, NCC and the Space ISAC serve cyber influencers from the commercial sector, academia, government, and military and empower people to secure commercial, international, and military space communications from attacks on our global space assets. They are jointly building a research and development capability, cybersecurity training curriculum, and an analysis portal. With the addition of the Space ISAC, NCC is offering training on secure GPS and will be hosting a dialogue on the importance of international and commercial satellites on military communication at the Cyber Symposium. NCC also offers initial training, information sharing, and analysis portal to founding members.
The initial founders of Space ISAC serve as board members. Each board member has a role in fulfilling the mission of the ISAC. The mission to facilitate collaboration across the global space industry to enhance our ability to prepare for and respond to vulnerabilities, incidents, and threats; to disseminate timely and actionable information among member firms; and to serve as the primary communications channel for the sector with respect to this information.
Erin Miller of the National Cybersecurity Center, said, “Space ISAC welcomes international companies to join and be on the founding membership board so we can accurately address and respond to global space threats. SES brings tremendous experience and leadership in the satellite communications industry to the Space ISAC founding membership board. Defending and protecting critical infrastructures dependent on commercial satellite communications can be a priority for the Space ISAC with leadership from our strong founding membership base.”
Over several decades, the leading satellite operator SES has been a trusted provider of communications services to a wide range of customers, including telcos, mobile network operators, aero, maritime, as well as governments, for whom secure communications capabilities are of critical importance. The company has put cybersecurity among its key priorities across all areas, including space and ground infrastructures. SES’s current and upcoming multi- orbit capabilities boast cutting-edge technology and unprecedented flexibility, boosted by the company’s pioneering network management and standardization developments that allow seamless integration of satellite with terrestrial networks as well as the coordinated utilization of space and ground assets in the most efficient, flexible and secure way. Today, SES delivers a range of reliable satellite-enabled network solutions, including cloud, in remote areas. In addition, SES is supporting advances in satellite-based cybersecurity together with institutions and R&D and develops mechanisms that make secure satellite communications increasingly more accessible across markets and geographies.
Andre Adelsbach of SES said, “At SES, we view cybersecurity as a critical pillar in enabling seamless business delivery. We are glad to be part of the Space ISAC so that we can collectively drive the development of a strong and confident cybersecurity strategy that supports the space ecosystem and can benefit the industry.”
ISAC Explainer
ISACs are sector-specific, member-driven organizations stood up by the commercial sector with support from the federal government to collect, analyze, and disseminate cyber and physical security threats and risk mitigation information to critical infrastructure owners, operators, and members to increase resiliency.
Need for Space ISAC
The need for a Space ISAC was conceived by the Science & Technology Partnership Forum in 2017 in response to recognized information-sharing gaps within the cybersecurity and space community. The Forum’s goal was to enhance the community’s ability to prepare for and respond to vulnerabilities, incidents, and threats; disseminate timely information; and serve as the primary communications channel for the sector with respect to this information. The Forum shared this vision at the 34th Space Symposium in April 2018.
White House National Security Council Spokesman Garrett Marquis said of the Space ISAC’s formation, “This Administration strongly supports the formation of private-sector driven information sharing and analysis centers. The new Space ISAC aims to help gather, analyze, and disseminate critical cyber threat information related to space among the Federal, commercial, and international community and advances the 2018 National Cyber Strategy’s priority to enhance space cybersecurity.”
The White House’s National Cyber Strategy, published September 23, 2018, states that “the Administration will enhance efforts to protect our space assets and support infrastructure from evolving cyber threats,” while working “with industry and international partners to strengthen the cyber resilience of existing and future space systems.” Locating the Space ISAC at the NCC means Space ISAC members will have access to Colorado’s space and cybersecurity ecosystems within the commercial and defense sectors and to the talents of the premier higher education institutions developing cybersecurity engineers.
To facilitate the Space ISAC’s origination and organization as the founding member, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. coordinated the organizational planning and federal government charter, funded the ISAC startup costs, and developed the operational plan for the Space ISAC.
NCC History
NCC is a member-driven national community of cyber influencers from government, academia, industry, and military conceived in 2016 and located in Colorado Springs, CO. The NCC provides cybersecurity leadership, services, training, and policy advisement and awareness for public officials, business executives, and the workforce. NCC’s support to the Space ISAC will create a public-private alliance to serve the commercial sector, academia, government, and military and empower people to secure commercial, international, and military space communications from attacks on our global space assets. NCC also leads a collaborative effort to use blockchain technology to develop a secure mobile voting app and offering blockchain training.
National Cybersecurity Center CEO Vance Brown said, “This intersection of space and cybersecurity represents a unique public-private partnership at the tip of the spear and is in perfect alignment with NCC’s vision to secure the world. The greatest threat to our space assets is our cyber interference. The NCC is uniquely qualified to facilitate the mitigation of cyber risks.”
About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.
Kratos develops and fields transformative, affordable technology, platforms, and systems for United States National Security related customers, allies and commercial enterprises. Kratos is changing the way breakthrough technology for these industries are rapidly brought to market through proven commercial and venture capital-backed approaches, including proactive research and streamlined development processes. Kratos specializes in unmanned systems, satellite communications, cybersecurity/warfare, microwave electronics, missile defense, hypersonic systems, training, and combat systems. For more information go to www.KratosDefense.com.
About Booz Allen Hamilton
For more than 100 years, military, government, and business leaders have turned to Booz Allen Hamilton to solve their most complex problems. As a consulting firm with experts in analytics, digital, engineering, and cyber, we help organizations transform. We are a key partner on some of the most innovative programs for governments worldwide and trusted by their most sensitive agencies. We work shoulder to shoulder with clients, using a mission-first approach to choose the right strategy and technology to help them realize their vision. With global headquarters in McLean, Virginia and more than 80 offices worldwide, our firm employs more than 26,100 people and had revenue of $6.7 billion for the 12 months ending March 31, 2019. To learn more, visit www.BoozAllen.com. (NYSE: BAH)
About MITRE
MITRE’s mission-driven teams are dedicated to solving problems for a safer world. Through public-private partnerships and our federally funded R&D centers, we work across government to tackle challenges to the safety, stability, and well-being of our nation. For more information about MITRE, please visit www.MITRE.org.
About SES
SES is the world’s leading satellite operator with over 70 satellites in two different orbits, Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). It provides a diverse range of customers with global video distribution and data connectivity services through two business units: SES Video and SES Networks. SES Video reaches over 355 million TV homes, through Direct-to- Home (DTH) platforms and cable, terrestrial, and IPTV networks globally. SES Video delivers a full suite of innovative end-to-end value-added services for both linear and digital distribution and includes the ASTRA satellite system, which has the largest DTH television reach in Europe. SES Networks provides global managed data services, connecting people in a variety of sectors including telecommunications, maritime, aeronautical, and energy, as well as governments and institutions across the world. The SES Networks portfolio includes GovSat, a 50/50 public-private partnership between SES and the Luxembourg government, and O3b, the only non-geostationary system delivering fibre-like broadband services today. Further information is available at www.ses.com.
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