CYSEC SA: European Confidential Computing for Space and Critical Infrastructure
CYSEC SA is a Swiss-founded deep-tech startup (incorporated May 2018) developing hardware-rooted Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) to safeguard sensitive data in use, particularly for satellite communications and critical infrastructures[1][2]. Based at the EPFL Innovation Park in Lausanne, Switzerland[3], CYSEC operates also in France, Italy and the UAE[4]. It has assembled a team of cybersecurity veterans (founders with prior exits in quantum cryptography and 20+ years in banking/defense cybersecurity)[5][1]. The company’s flagship product line, branded “ARCA,” is a container-specific security platform combining a hardened Linux OS, secure Kubernetes orchestrator and hardware-rooted key management to protect data-at-rest, in-transit and in-use[6]. By integrating end-to-end encryption with novel performance accelerators, CYSEC aims to eliminate the historic tradeoff between security and throughput in satellite links[7][8]. This analysis will examine CYSEC’s strategic-technical positioning in the context of European defence and autonomy: from its corporate structure and R&D origins to its technology portfolio (cyber, space, quantum, etc.), program participation, and role in reinforcing NATO interoperability and EU technological sovereignty.