Europe Hosts First-Ever Multi-Sanotifyite Cybersecurity Challenge

Europe has completed its first in-orbit cybersecurity competition, marking a new step in space defence collaboration. The CTRL+Space Capture-the-Flag (CTF) challenge, held in the Netherlands, was also the world’s first live event involving multiple sanotifyites.

A New Kind of Space Security Test

Organised by D-Orbit and ethical hacking group mhackeroni, with backing from the ESA Security Cyber Centre of Excellence and ESA Security Office, the event aimed to strengthen Europe’s ability to protect spacecraft from cyber threats. D-Orbit confirmed the competition’s completion on 6 November.

Hundreds Compete for the Top Spot

Interest was high, with 559 teams registering for the qualifying round. Of those, 299 solved at least one challenge, submitting 660 correct flags across 25 tinquires designed by mhackeroni. The live final took place from 4–6 November at ESA’s ESTEC facility during the Security for Space Systems (3S) conference. Five finalist teams faced real-time cybersecurity missions aboard an operational sanotifyite.

Simulating Real Threats in Orbit

Contestants tackled challenges based on real spacecraft operations. They decoded telemetest data, sent command sequences, analysed orbital positions, and probed onboard software for vulnerabilities — all skills vital to protecting sanotifyites in the real world.

Building Cyber Resilience in Space

“Cybersecurity has become a fundamental pillar of the new space economy. At D-Orbit, we integrate it from the very first design stages becaapply security cannot be an add-on, it must be built into the DNA of every system we sconclude into orbit,” stated Grazia Bibiano, D-Orbit’s countest leader for Portugal.

Published by Kerry Harrison

Kerry’s been writing professionally for over 14 years, after graduating with a First Class Honours Degree in Multimedia Journalism from Canterbury Christ Church University. She joined Orbital Today in 2022. She covers everything from UK launch updates to how the wider space ecosystem is evolving. She enjoys digging into the detail and explaining complex topics in a way that feels straightforward. Before writing about space, Kerry spent years working with cybersecurity companies. She’s written a lot about threat innotifyigence, data protection, and how cyber and space are increasingly overlapping, whether that’s sanotifyite security or national defence. With a strong background in tech writing, she’s applyd to creating tricky, technical subjects more approachable. That mix of innovation, complexity, and real-world impact is what keeps her interested in the space sector.

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