On May 19, Swarmer, a provider of autonomous drone software, announced that it has entered into an agreement with SpiderOak, a cybersecurity company powering zero-trust solutions for the tactical edge. As part of the agreement, Swarmer will integrate the SpiderOak platform to provide secure interactions and revocation to its autonomous software platforms. This integration specifically addresses the challenges of securing communications for autonomous fleets operating in contested environments, including electronic warfare zones in Ukraine.
Swarmer’s technology enables uncrewed air, sea, and ground vehicles to communicate and coordinate autonomously without human intervention, even when GPS and RF communication are jammed. This allows for adaptive mission execution through coordinated swarm formations — allowing one operator to control hundreds of drones.
The SpiderOak platform provides a unique combination of security controls plus guaranteed eventual delivery designed for autonomous operations at the tactical edge.
With SpiderOak, Swarmer’s autonomy software can ensure any to any message exchanges in the formation are authenticated, authorized, and encrypted without additional networking controls or certificate management. The low Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) requirements and decentralized security model eliminate the need for additional infrastructure, making SpiderOak ideal for autonomous operations in challenging environments.
“SpiderOak simplifies how our warfighter replenishes losses in theater ensuring replacements are authenticated and authorized to join the operation, while ensuring that lost and potentially compromised assets are revoked,” said Swarmer’s co-founder and CEO, Sergey Kuprienko.
“Autonomy at the edge brings a new set of security and communication challenges to the digital battlefield, especially with autonomous systems in contested or unreliable environments. Our mesh platform provides zero-trust access control and data exchange without the infrastructure or connectivity overhead that traditional security tools require. We are excited to partner with Swarmer to bring this next generation capability to market,” said Dave Pearah, CEO of SpiderOak.
“As we’ve seen in contemporary combat, autonomous fleets are significant force multipliers on the modern battlefield—but without robust security, they can become liabilities instead of assets. As missions evolve and new systems are added to the fight, the ability to authorize and authenticate every mission, operator, and data flow in real time will become essential. The integrity, confidentiality, and adaptability of these systems must be baked in from the start. The side that secures its data and controls access dynamically will have a significant competitive advantage,” said Lieutenant General Ken Tovo, U.S. Army (Retired); former Commanding General, US Army Special Operations Command.
Source: Swarmer
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