21SoftWare is a cybersecurity startup developing software and engineering services to improve the safety, security, and reliability of space-based operations.
Earlier this year, 21SoftWare spun out of TriSept Corporation, where it had incubated its core product, The Security Enhancement Layer (TSEL) operating system. The team has since expanded into Software Engineering as a Service (SEaaS).
Seed funding: 21SoftWare closed its seed round, providing development time to accelerate its path to market. The company is expanding its sales and marketing efforts to reach the commercial and government small satellite communities with a focus on satellite and payload suppliers and flight computer manufacturers.
A distributed US team: The company is headquartered in Aldie, VA, and has a team of business leaders, software engineers, and finance and contract specialists distributed throughout California, Colorado, Maryland, and New York.
Product Overview
The founding 21SoftWare team set out to provide a secure operating system (OS) for the small satellite community at an affordable price point. By using an OS built with cybersecurity as a priority, 21SoftWare users can focus on their overall mission requirements and business case.
The Security Enhancement Layer (TSEL): Today, many small satellites don’t have cybersecurity protections, and those that do often implement them as an afterthought. Because small satellites have limited CPU power, many organizations prioritize available computing power to drive their payload mission and forego advanced security measures.
21SoftWare flips this practice on its head with TSEL, an enhanced security Linux OS for embedded devices that is optimized for satellites and spacecraft without compromising computing power. TSEL users deploy their operational software with the confidence of built-in cybersecurity protection. TSEL is based on three pillars: Security, Integrity, and Manageability. TSEL locks down an embedded system and provides a protective barrier against attacks while minimizing its footprint on the platform, effectively providing a stable, secure operating system.
To minimize the attack surface, TSEL:
- Implements a zero-trust approach
- Enables only required features
- Disables debugging features that can be used in attacks
- Employs strict firewall and perimeter controls
- Provides continual CVE monitoring and updates
A key feature of TSEL is the built-in security framework that applies security controls and follows best practices and security compliance guidelines from both US and international regulatory agencies.
Software Engineering as a Service (SEaaS): By offering engineering services, 21SoftWare can provide a fully functional software team to deliver a customer’s end product or they can provide specialized experts to augment an existing team. 21SoftWare’s team can assist with full software life-cycle development, including project management, software development, quality, test, and DevOps. The team also offers consulting to address security compliance needs.
This approach allows customers to scale as needed and to access software experts while focusing on system development.
Company Strengths
An experienced team: The 21SoftWare leadership team has extensive experience in the space community across the military, federal, civil, and commercial space sectors. Their resumes include key roles in programs such as the NASA Space Shuttle, Mars Orbiter and Lander missions, NOAA’s GOES-R weather satellite, and the Pentagon’s Project Maven for AI. Their diverse areas of expertise range from SATCOM and MILSATCOM to ISR and SIGINT to launch and early operations.
A robust partner network: 21SoftWare is building a robust network of strategic partners. For example, SpiderOak’s Orbit Secure product is a strong complement to its own TSEL solution. Combined, they offer a comprehensive cybersecurity protocol that secures both the onboard embedded computing systems and the end-to-end communications encryption on a spacecraft.
21SoftWare is also partnered with Benchmark Space Systems, a Vermont-based space mobility company, offering TSEL to their customers. “What if we secured an operating system to begin with, and then let the guys that are building the birds just lay their software on top?” 21SoftWare CEO Rob Spicer told Payload when this partnership was announced in August.
Other 21SoftWare partners include its company of origin, TriSept, and Xtenti, which has patented, developed, qualified, and launched several space logistics enablers and has integrated numerous satellites on highly complex, multi-manifest missions.
Challenges
The cybersecurity challenge: The greatest challenge 21SoftWare faces is the rapidly evolving space-based, cybersecurity environment. There are 22,000 cyber attacks daily resulting in $2.5B in corporate losses, and it takes the average organization 277+ days to recover from a cyber breach.
- Mitigant: TSEL and its team of industry veterans are well equipped to identify, monitor, and prevent both known and emerging cybersecurity vulnerabilities to significantly increase critical network security.
Future Roadmap
21SoftWare is primarily focused on the small satellite market for now, given its strong experience with small satellite builders as well as the desire to provide them with a secure operating system at a favorable price point. The company plans to have small satellite operational testing and flight heritage milestones completed by the end of this year.
Air and Ground: Next, 21SoftWare intends to expand its reach into other sectors that could benefit from a secure and affordable operating system like TSEL. These include unmanned aerial systems (UAS/UAV) and satellite ground systems.
As the company branches into other critical network spaces its leadership envisions a suite of software products built around TSEL that are tailored to specific markets and provide quality, yet affordable cybersecurity and threat protection.
