Aerospace giant Airbus has won a blockbuster cybersecurity contract that will see it provide a range of security tools including a highly automated surveillance system to 17 European agencies and institutions.
Airbus, which is registered in the Netherlands, teamed up with France’s Atos to tender for the contract. It described the six-year deal with the Council of the European Union as a “landmark agreement”.
Markus Braendle, head of Airbus CyberSecurity, told Computer Business Review: “This is the most important framework contract known in cyber ever signed in Europe.”
Airbus Atos Decline to Provide Details
Dirk Hoke, Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Defence and Space commented in a released statement that: “This is a landmark agreement for us in the area of cyber security. The EU’s decision to award Airbus CyberSecurity such a critical cyber protection contract is a strong endorsement of our capability and expertise. Cyber Security is a growing area of concern for many institutions in the era of digitalisation.”
Computer Business Review sought a more detailed breakdown of the contract signed with the EU by Airbus and Atos and more information regarding the EU institutions involved. Citing confidentiality agreements both Airbus and Atos declined to disclose further details.
Airbus runs Security Operating Centre’s in France, Germany and the UK with an attachment of over 700 security experts.
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Among the aerospace company’s products is a “secure exchange gateway” (SEG) which supports the transfer of sensitive information between networks within military, government and corporations.
The company describes the tool as a “multi-layer exchange gateway for secure information to be transferred between networks with different classification levels.”
Among its other tools is Keelback Net, which Airbus says provides advanced detection by using network sensors deployed within customers’ networks.
“Our sensor uses an Intrusion Detection System engine with a metadata analysis via Deep Packet Inspection, resulting in refined detection and less false-positives. Whereas our analytics solution is constantly monitoring data traffic and will raise the alarm if an intrusion is detected.”
