Thales has been notified by the European Space Agency (ESA), on behalf of the European Union Agency for the Space Program (EUSPA) and the European Union represented by the European Commission, of two major contracts for cybersecurity of Galileo Second Generation (G2G) program.
Together, these contracts represent a total value of more than 60 million euros (excluding options) and confirm the Group’s key role in the cybersecurity of the second generation of the Galileo program as Thales will be in charge of all elements of the security and resilience of G2G.
On May 17, 2023, Thales was awarded the contract for security monitoring on the G2G system infrastructure. This award follows the cybersecurity specification and design contract for the Galileo Second Generation system that was confirmed on April 17, 2023 that will significantly improve the performance of the second-generation Galileo system with the introduction of new services, stronger resilience functionality asd well as future additional features for the PRS1 (« Public Regulated Service » refers to Galileo’s service for governmental use) navigation service for government users.
As a major partner of the EU Space Program to ensure the security of the Galileo system, Thales has been working with the Agency for more than 20 years to contribute to the security of the Galileo program, Europe’s largest satellite program, providing sovereign and critical positioning, navigation, and timing services.
As part of G2G IOV SECMON, Thales is leading the consortium, including the Italian group Leonardo, to expand the scope of security monitoring and include the new assets in the G2G system. It will also introduce automated incident response and network traffic monitoring. In addition, the solution will be capable of storing significant amounts of incident response data. To meet this challenge, Thales will deliver a solution built on a scalable, flexible architecture derived from its Cybels range of security supervision products and incorporating big data capabilities.
New threats from quantum computers capable of breaking existing cryptographic algorithms have the potential to compromise long-term data security. Thales has been tasked by ESA within the consortium it leads to draw on its world-renowned cryptography expertise.
Under the “G2G System Engineering and Technical Assistance for security and PRS” contract, Thales will specify and verify the new cybersecurity for the G2G system – taking into account new threats to space systems, security maintenance requirements, improvements to the PRS service for government users– and prepare for system certification. One of the major challenges is to ensure a smooth transition from G1G to G2G while maintaining the level of security and performance offered by the G1G system for member states.
The cybersecurity of satellite systems has become a growing concern for satellite operators and space agencies, particularly against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions. Today, thousands of satellites are on-orbit, and it is estimated that 10,000 more will be added over the next 10 years, due to the multiplication of uses, from everyday life with the Internet of Things (IoT) to defense applications.
Through the signing of these two contracts, Thales’s expertise in scalable and flexible architecture and security equipment and protection against cyberattacks will enable the G2G program to strengthen its ability to detect and respond to new cyberthreats. The end-to-end solution proposed by Thales experts will contribute to the development of greater security and resilience of satellites.
In parallel, Thales Alenia Space has been notified of major contracts to design and build with its European consortium the G2G Ground Mission Segment and execute System Engineering Activities. The company will also provide 6 of the 12 satellites of the constellation.
Thales is involved at every level of the cyber value chain, offering solutions ranging from risk assessment to protection of critical infrastructure, supported by comprehensive threat detection and response capabilities. Its offer is built around three families of cybersecurity products and services, which generated sales of 1.5 billion euros in 2022:
- Global security products around the CipherTrust Data Security Platform the SafeNet Trusted Access Identity & Access Management as a service solution, and the broader cloud protection & licensing offerings
- Sovereign protection products including encryptors and sensors to protect critical information systems
- Cybels solutions portfolio, a complete suite of cybersecurity services including risk assessment, training and simulation, and cyberattack detection and response
Drawing on more than 40 years of experience in cybersecurity and space activities, Thales applies the principles of “cybersecurity by design” to the products it develops for satellite operators and space agencies. With more than 4,000 cybersecurity specialists, Thales helps to ensure the security of satellite systems for national and European space programs – in particular Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation program – and at the international level.
With its combined expertise in cutting-edge satellite systems and cybersecurity solutions relying on the latest military technologies, Thales offers governments, institutions and enterprise customers a comprehensive range of cybersecurity solutions to guarantee robust protection of all the elements of a space system. In April 2023, Thales demonstrated its expertise in offensive security at CYSAT, managing to take remote control of an ESA demonstration satellite, in order to anticipate and respond to current and future threats.
“Thales thanks ESA, EUSPA and the European Commission for its continued confidence in the Group’s expertise in space systems and cybersecurity for critical systems. These security contracts for Galileo Second Generation will bring Europe a more robust system with better protection from quantum threats – a major challenge for the space industry in the decades ahead – and will draw on the Group’s unparalleled big data expertise to provide more effective security monitoring of the world’s leading satellite positioning system.” — Pierre-Yves Jolivet, VP Cyber Solutions, Thales.
