CYSEC

CYSEC is a Lausanne, Switzerland-based cybersecurity company founded in 2018 specializing in hardware-rooted security solutions and post-quantum cryptography specifically designed for the space industry's unique threat environment — providing secure computing platforms, cryptographic key management systems, and communication security products for satellite command and control, satellite data links, and space system ground segment infrastructure.

Space systems face a distinctive cybersecurity challenge: satellites cannot be physically patched or hardware-updated once launched, command link intrusion can result in catastrophic mission loss or weaponization of the spacecraft, and the RF communications links used for satellite TT&C are inherently broadcast and interceptable over wide geographic areas. Traditional IT security approaches (frequent software updates, hardware replacement, centralized patch management) do not apply in the space environment where each spacecraft must be secured for a 10-15 year operational lifetime against threats that will evolve significantly over that period.

CYSEC's core product is the ARCA Trusted Computing Platform — a radiation-tolerant secure processor module that provides hardware-rooted trust anchors, secure boot attestation, cryptographic key generation and storage in hardware security modules (HSMs), and authenticated encryption for satellite command uplinks and data downlinks. The hardware security module approach means cryptographic keys are generated and never leave the secure hardware boundary, preventing key extraction even if the satellite's onboard computer is compromised through software vulnerabilities.

Post-quantum cryptography implementation is central to CYSEC's product roadmap: current asymmetric encryption (RSA, ECC) used for satellite command authentication is vulnerable to quantum computer attacks using Shor's algorithm, and satellites being designed today will still be operational when sufficiently powerful quantum computers may exist. CYSEC implements NIST-standardized post-quantum algorithms (CRYSTALS-Kyber for key encapsulation, CRYSTALS-Dilithium for digital signatures) in its hardware security modules, providing forward security for satellite command systems against future quantum threats.

CYSEC has received ESA funding through OSIP (Open Space Innovation Platform) and commercial contracts for European satellite programs. The company competes with traditional defense cryptography suppliers (Thales, L3Harris, Rohde & Schwarz) and emerging space security specialists (Axiom Space/NASA security frameworks) in the space cybersecurity niche. The EU's NIS2 Directive and growing regulatory focus on space infrastructure protection are expanding the addressable market.