SBIR Funding Demonstrates Growing Imperative for ‘Space Cyber’ 

In response to an evolving threat landscape where cyberattacks can manipulate and compromise a satellite’s data, the United States Space Force is heightening its focus on “space cyber,” or the cybersecurity of space systems on-orbit. One emerging solution toward this effort is the Cyber Reslience on-Orbit (CROO) tool, a software program that focuses on not just securing the links between satellites and the terrestrial networks, but on the cybersecurity of the satellite itself. Funded in part by an AFWERX Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Direct-to-Phase II contract, the CROO tool will leverage innovative technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and digital twin modeling and simulation in a way that demonstrates how the Space Force is adapting to a more dynamic and contested ‘space cyber’ environment.  

“CROO essentially acts as a ‘nervous system’ to indicate that something isn’t right with the satellite,” said Maj Gen (Ret) Kim Crider, the former Chief Technology and Innovation Officer with the Space Force and Founding Partner at Elara Nova. “It starts with building a complete digital model of a satellite, including its subsystems and components to learn the normal behavior of the system. CROO then uses AI and synthetic data to model attacks against one or more subsystems or components. By learning how the digital twin satellite reacts to simulated attacks, the CROO tool can learn to detect or infer real attacks on real satellite systems by knowing what attack indicators to look for. This ultimately will give satellite operators more ways to diagnose when an anomaly is in fact an attack.”  

CROO is being designed to recognize and detect the broad range of current and emerging cyber threats.

“CROO is a next generation cybersecurity tool specifically designed for space systems,” said Brig Gen (Ret) Chad Raduege, the former Chief Information Officer with U.S. European Command and President of Elara Nova’s Cyber, Data and Communications sector. “By using the digital twin model to explore how the satellite might behave under a cyberattack CROO indicates what may happen when an intrusion or unauthorized access is taking place, where a bad actor is making malicious commands or tampering with the code in a way that results in an abnormal behavior. It’s also looking at its signals for software compromises like the different spoofing techniques an adversary or hacker can employ.”  

In doing so, CROO both embodies the convergence of emerging technologies like AI/ML and digital twin modeling and simulation and reinforces the inherently integrated and operationally vital relationship between the space and cyberspace domains. 

Ensuring Cybersecurity Across Domains 

While the United States government has been putting satellites on-orbit for decades, it’s only been in relatively recent history that it’s had to protect those assets from cyberattacks. But protecting satellites from cyberattack isn’t as easy as protecting networks on the ground.  

“Different strategies are required beyond our traditional cybersecurity approaches,” Gen Raduege said. “Cyber defenses for terrestrial networks like firewalls, patching and perimeter defenses, don’t necessarily translate well into space. You can’t just plug and play with different assets like you can on the ground, so cybersecurity defenses have to be designed and built in before the system is even launched. You have to have redundant and resilient systems in space, and that’s why other types of defensive approaches like AI/ML, digital twins and the automation activities of CROO will be important.” 

Further complicating matters is the inherent interconnectedness of space and cyber technologies, which means the Department of War must consider how it will protect its networks across its whole system of systems.  

“We have to keep in mind that when it comes to space cyber, the ground infrastructure and their data links to on-orbit assets create a complex, interconnected ecosystem across domains,” Gen Raduege added. “Terrestrial network defenses can be regularly accessed and updated with patches or fixes, whereas we don’t have direct access to space cyber networks that exist in a hostile and distant space environment. Space cyber is an end-to-end system across a distributed environment that blurs the boundaries of operational and information technologies. That’s a unique challenge to have to protect.” 

It’s also where a cybersecurity tool like CROO will play an outsized role, particularly as satellites function as physical, control-oriented systems that rely heavily on IT for complex software, data processing, communication and data transport. 

“CROO becomes incredibly important when it comes to monitoring a satellite’s behavior because satellites are just one set of endpoints in the entire system of systems,” Gen Crider said. “These satellites are assets we can’t afford to lose, and they’re operating thousands of miles away and traveling at incredibly fast speeds. So we’ve got to think through how we’re going to deal with potential compromises, delays or anomalous behaviors with that satellite and protect the rest of this system it’s connected to.”  

Space Force Investing in Cybersecurity Solutions 

As the nation’s newest military service, the Space Force recognizes its role beyond a facilitator and enabler of joint force operations. Its leaders understand that the service was stood up to protect and defend strategic assets on-orbit in response to a growing counterspace threat environment, which specifically includes cyber threats. 

That’s why the government is creating avenues for companies to cross the ”Valley of Death” and bring innovative, dual-use solutions to the fight. CROO is one such example of this emerging public-private investment.  

“This example demonstrates the government sees operational value in the CROO concept, because these Direct-to-Phase-II SBIR contracts are intended to transition a credible idea into an operational prototype as quickly as possible,” Gen Raduege said. ”The AFWERX SBIRs program and other innovation contracting approaches in general, are explicitly designed to attract startups with operationally feasible and relevant ideas, even from non-traditional defense contractors. These programs enable researchers to develop solutions that can close an operational gap.” 

The influx of funding dollars capabilities like CROO also reflects the emerging priority that is “space cyber.” 

“CROO signals that the Space Force is serious about ‘space cyber’ and is willing to put money behind it,” Gen Crider said. “The Space Force wants a framework for equipping a space system and monitoring it for threats and anomalous behavior. CROO now creates an opportunity that’s not just a one-off capability, but one that can be expanded across the Space Force’s mission areas over time.” 

Leveraging Commercial Innovation and Collaboration 

The successful development of CROO further demonstrates how the government is using the SBIR program to initiate high-level conversations about its needs and its willingness to explore commercial solutions to meet those needs. This can be an innovative break from traditional approaches, when the government oftentimes would receive different capabilities from different industry partners and would ultimately be responsible for integrating them together into a comprehensive solution themselves.  

Instead, the SBIR program is creating an opportunity for industry partners to contribute their own respective strengths to deliver the most advanced capability – already fully integrated – to the warfighter.  

“CROO is an example of the power of collaboration between innovative commercial companies, where Proof Labs, BigBear.ai and Redwire Space all came together to develop a solution,” Gen Crider said. “Proof Labs focuses on cybersecurity testing and analysis, while BigBear.ai delivers modern AI/ML techniques, and RedWire Space understands how satellite systems are developed and integrated into end-to-end systems. This resulted in a capability that incorporates all three of these strengths: cybersecurity, AI/ML technologies and space systems.” 

An Evolving ‘Space Cyber’ Threat 

The space environment, and particularly the space cyber environment, will only continue to evolve rapidly as technologies and adversarial threats advance. Therefore, the need to secure and protect space systems, and other systems across operational domains, becomes an increasingly significant imperative.  

That’s why Elara Nova is also evolving to meet this emerging requirement, by standing up its new Cyber, Data and Communications business sector to ensure the cybersecurity resiliency of technologies and systems across operational domains.  

“The Cyber, Data and Communications sector is focused on what our warfighters need across multi-domain operations,” Gen Raduege said. “Data exchanges through communication nodes that connect one domain to another require the right cybersecurity applications. Our objective is to help government and industry alike translate commercial technologies into solutions that meet the government’s needs, and can be integrated into the current operational environment.” 

For Gen Crider, as one of the four Founding Partners at Elara Nova, the new CDC sector demonstrates a natural evolution for the strategic advisory firm.  

“Elara Nova’s core focus from the start has been: ‘How do we help advance the national defense and security capabilities of the United States and its allies?’” Gen Crider said. “This requires a team of experts with deep experience across the specific domains of military, commercial and civil operations that are becoming more and more complex, interconnected and integrated together through data networks. We need the appropriate software and cybersecurity constructs to assure this spectrum of technologies can perform with assured protection across domains. So Elara Nova’s CDC sector is a natural evolution of how we help our industry partners satisfy and meet government requirements for operating in these complex environments and supporting how the government thinks about leveraging the capabilities industry brings forward.” 

Elara Nova is a trusted guiding partner that builds tailored teams to illuminate unseen opportunities and deliver impact across every domain. Learn more at https://elaranova.com/.