Space West Spotlight - Jessie Hamill-Stewart
Welcome to Space West Spotlight, a series celebrating the people, research and businesses that make up the Space West community.
Through this series we'll profile the individuals driving innovation, the pioneering research shaping the future and the local businesses powering growth across our region.
This edition, we're shining the spotlight on Jessie Hamill-Stewart, the lead for CySpace Connected Capability Network.
What is the focus of your research?
The primary focuses are Cyber security and space domain awareness.
The CySpace Connected Capability Network aims to create a more resilient space domain by bringing together partners from across industry, academia and government within and outside the space sector to map relevant capabilities and expertise that can be leveraged to create new products and services that address our most critical vulnerabilities.
What challenge or opportunity does it address?
Many in the UK’s space industry do not fully understand how vulnerable their systems are to cyber attacks, and cyber security experts hold skills which could be applied to space, but are currently not. Both sectors are missing opportunities for collaboration and growth.
What makes this work novel or significant?
CySpace uniquely brings together space and cyber communities to tackle this problem and facilitate communication. We developed a Requirements Catalogue to state what is needed to secure space domain awareness in the UK and a Problem Book (email [email protected] to request) detailing what is missing from UK infrastructure to support cyber and space.
How does it benefit industry or society?
We as a society increasingly rely on space services, such as positioning, navigation and timing, and communications to sustain critical infrastructure including energy grids. By bringing together cyber security and space communities, we enhance communication about securing space and boost the UK’s resilience.
What are the next steps for your research?
We have created a network of over 300 cyber and space professionals from around the UK and beyond, and we are now making plans for further growth and support. Register for our newsletter to receive further updates.
What opportunities are there for collaboration or knowledge transfer?
Please join our network on the above link or via the email [email protected]. We are always happy to have a conversation about space and cyber and how we can support you. This is a brilliant time to join the conversation as we define our next steps as a UK-wide space and cyber entity.
