Reinforcing European space autonomy with the EU Space Information Sharing Centre (ISAC)

Space plays a crucial role in EU strategic autonomy, economy, citizens’ welfare, security and defence, scientific development and other vital areas. Considering the Union’s increasing reliance on space data and services, safeguarding the security of space systems and the communication and information networks they rely upon is of utmost importance.

On March 2023, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton and the High Representative, Josep Borrel presented in March 2023 the first-ever EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence. The strategy is a direct implementation of the EU Strategic Compass adopted less than a year ago and which defined space, together with cyber and maritime, as contested strategic domains, the security of which must be ensured. 

The strategy foresees -among others- the creation of a Sharing and Analysis Centre (EU Space ISAC) to raise awareness and facilitate the exchange of best practices among commercial and relevant public entities on resilience measures for space capabilities.

Increasing EUSPA’s security responsibilities 

EUSPA has a large portfolio to deliver on, which includes the security of the EU Space Programme and its components in space and on the ground. The agency guarantees that Europe’s positioning systems, Galileo and EGNOS emit secure signals and that their respective ground infrastructures (sensors, antennas, stations) remain intact. It does so by performing risk and threat analysis and monitoring the compliance to the general security requirements of the space components.

Moreover, EUSPA provides security expertise to other components of the Space Programme, such as GOVSATCOM and the Space Situational Awareness. 

As of June 2023, the agency also manages the EU Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) Front Desk. Highly qualified EUSPA staff interfaces with spacecraft owners and operators, EU institutions and EU Member States and supports them in using the web portal and the services SST offers.

Read this: EUSPA grows further to support EU Space Traffic Management

“Working towards the establishment of the EU space ISAC is an important task for our agency, and we are proud to work with the European Commission on this’’ says EUSPA Executive Director Rodrigo da Costa. “Given our excellence in managing the operational security of Galileo and our new role in the EU STT, we are excited to be able to share our knowledge with interested stakeholders and contribute to a safer and more secure EU space.’’ he concludes.

So, what is the EU space Sharing and Analysis Centre?

The EU Space ISAC will be membership-driven organisation, engaging industry, public sector institutions and academia. The main objective of it is to contribute to the security and resilience of space systems and their supply chain.

It will serve as the primary communication channel for the space sector with regard to security related information and sharing of best practices, and will provide relevant knowledge, services and resources to enable participants to prevent, tackle and mitigate security challenges to the space sector more effectively and efficiently. 

The centre will be composed of “Members’”, which can include Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), startups and academia. It will also include the so called “Public partners,’’ i.e., legal public entities of relevance for the EU Space sector and which are directly or indirectly contributing to the activity and regulation of ISAC.

Why Participate?

• Stay Informed: engage in information sharing about security related information, incidents*, cyber trends, vulnerabilities, and threats.

• Stay Ahead: benefit from early warning systems, getting timely alerts on security threats, enabling swift responses.

• Develop Together: enhance collective cybersecurity resilience through knowledge sharing, best practices, and expertise pooling.

• Access Expertise: engage with cybersecurity experts, public sector agencies, and other stakeholders for guidance and support.

• Network: build connections with industry peers and public partners, fostering collaborative solutions to common challenges.

Analytical information can be found here.

We encourage applicants to read carefully the call before submitting. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

EU Agency for the Space ProgrammeRead More