On Tuesday, 10 November 2026, at 15:15, the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DAER) of Politecnico di Milano will host a seminar by Dr Antonios Atlasis, Head of the System Security Engineering Section at the European Space Agency (ESA-ESTEC). The seminar will take place in the Sala Consiglio, Building B12, 2nd floor, Bovisa Campus, Via La Masa 34, Milan.
The seminar, entitled “Introduction to the Security of Space Systems: What Is Changing, Threats and Related Technologies”, will provide an overview of the evolving cybersecurity landscape in the space sector, focusing on threats to space missions and the technologies required to protect them.
Starting from a system-level perspective, Dr Atlasis will examine the main security threats affecting space systems, drawing on examples of past incidents and discussing the corresponding security measures. Particular attention will be given to space communication links, relevant security protocols and cryptographic technologies, including the potential impact of quantum computing on cryptography and the mitigation strategies required.
The seminar will also explore 5G for Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) and its security implications, before addressing emerging mission scenarios and concepts and their impact on future space system security requirements.
About the speaker
Dr Antonios Atlasis graduated from the Hellenic Air Force Academy as a Telecommunications and Electronics Engineer. He holds a Master's degree from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in Telecommunication Networks from the National Technical University of Athens.
He began his career as a telecommunications engineer in the Hellenic Air Force before moving into cybersecurity in the early 2000s, gaining experience in offensive and defensive security operations as well as cybersecurity research.
In 2015, he joined the NATO Communications and Information (NCI) Agency as a cybersecurity scientist. In 2017, he moved to the European Space Agency as a cybersecurity engineer for Galileo.
Since 2021, he has led the System Security Engineering Section within ESA's Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality. His team supports ESA missions and projects in system security and cybersecurity engineering, while defining and implementing a research and development roadmap for technologies aimed at protecting future space missions.
His research interests include the security of modern network protocols and non-terrestrial networks.