Keeping Systems Secure on Earth—and in Space
Although satellites have become inextricably connected to essential technology and infrastructure here on Earth, efforts to keep them secure and resilient have not kept up with increasing cybersecurity threats. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering are seeking to change that.
On Tuesday, November 11, 2025, industry, academic, and national laboratory leaders will meet at the Wyndham Grand Hotel in Pittsburgh to address complex security challenges in an interconnected world, one that extends thousands of miles into space. The IEEE Workshop on Security and Resiliency of Critical Infrastructure and Space Technologies, part of the four-day Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Trust, Privacy and Security in Intelligent Systems, and Applications, seeks to build an international ecosystem dedicated to securing critical infrastructure.
“There are unique challenges and cross-domain dependencies between terrestrial and space systems that introduce new vectors of risk, which continue to be overlooked,” said Mai Abdelhakim, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Pitt, who launched the IEEE SR-CIST workshop last year and is serving as the chair of the workshop’s organizing committee. “A central aim is building a community that is working across domains, on Earth and in space, to address complex risks and keep infrastructure safer.”
Recognizing how critical infrastructure today extends into a space, indeed how they are so aligned and essential to society, the workshop includes a transdisciplinary group of presenters across sectors. Finding solutions to ever-evolving threats that can have increasingly catastrophic results requires a multifaceted approach and a connected community.
“Maintaining critical infrastructure, no matter if it’s a power plant, a satellite, or a space station, is becoming increasingly complex,” said Robert Cunningham, Vice Chancellor for Research Infrastructure at Pitt and general co-chair of the IEEE SR-CIST workshop. “During this workshop, we’re going to look at the technology and training necessary to ensure safer and more resilient systems. We’ll explore the need to design reliability into mobile systems, into everything from e-bikes to trains to space shuttles.”
Cunningham will open the workshop, followed by keynote speaker Greg Shannon, fellow and chief cybersecurity scientist at the Idaho National Laboratory, who will discuss “Foundations for Trust, Privacy, and Security in Proliferated Spaces.”
Shannon will also moderate the panel “Operational Technology (OT) Security.” The expert panelists are:
- Dionosio De Niz, principal researcher and the technical director of the Assuring Cyber-Physical Systems directorate at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.
- Samuel Perl, senior member of the technical staff on the CSIRT development team within the CERT® Program at CMU’s Software Engineering Institute.
- James Gillespie, chief growth officer and vice chairman at GrayMatter, a leading OT-focused company.
- Chad Spensky, founder and CEO of Allthenticate, a cybersecurity company.
Sekar Kulandaivel, research engineer at Bosch, will present an invited talk titled “Fast and Secure Safety-Preserving Hotpatching for Microcontrollers via Static Trampolines.”
The workshop will have three paper presentation sessions with a diverse, international group of industry leaders and academics. Participants will also have opportunities to network and share ideas.
“It’s exciting to hold the workshop in Pittsburgh this year and to have such distinguished experts from across fields sharing their insight,” said Abdelhakim. “Everyone’s experience is vital in developing more secure, resilient systems on Earth and in space.”
See the full program and learn more about the workshop and how you can attend.