Thales has been awarded two major contracts for cybersecurity of Galileo Second Generation (G2G) programme. The contracts, which were awarded by the European Space Agency (ESA), on behalf of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and the European Union represented by the European Commission, represent a total value of over €60 million (excluding options).
The contacts confirm the Group’s key role in the cybersecurity of the second generation of the Galileo programme as Thales will be in charge of all elements of the security and resilience of G2G.
“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,” said Pierre-Yves Jolivet, VP Cyber Solutions, Thales.
G2G cybersecurity
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.
Through the signing of these 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.
Image: Sylvain Loddo – Head of Galileo Ground Segment Management Office, Ennio Guarino – Head of Galileo and EGNOS Programme Department, Lionel SALMON – Cybersecurity of Information Systems Director and Alexandra POREZ – Thales GALILEO Programme Director. ©Thales
