Secmation Receives $1M SBIR Phase 2 Award for ONR Cybersecure UAS

Raleigh, NC, 3/17/2021 – Secmation, a leading small business in the fields of Cybersecurity R&D and Product Development, received a $1M Phase 2 SBIR award in January 2021. The SBIR was awarded by the Office of Naval Research for the purpose of developing SecMUAS, a modular cybersecure unmanned aerial systems (UAS) platform. SecMUAS incorporates a US designed/manufactured Secure Control Unit with advanced security and performance features, as well as a configuration IDE providing a rapid unmanned system software development capability that automatically incorporates security features needed to implement security policy. The innovative SecMUAS automatically incorporates security features into a modular design framework for unmanned systems opens new market opportunities in both the Industrial and Commercial sectors. These markets need affordable, high assurance, “future-proof” solutions enabled by SecMUAS to rapidly transition from design to operational use.  While this ONR project includes testing with unmanned aerial systems/drones, the methodology is applicable to a variety of unmanned platforms including unmanned maritime systems. Secmation’s SecMUAS hardware and software will provide manufacturers key security and time to market advantages over existing and anticipated competitors. The project team will be led by Secmation’s CEO Dr. Hal Aldridge.

“Security of unmanned and autonomous systems is a growing need as these systems become a part of our daily lives and a target for cyber-attacks. Secmation’s strategic focus is to develop cybersecurity technologies to help DoD, Government, and Industry users defend their unmanned systems from emerging threats and comply with evolving regulations” stated Dr. Aldridge.

Secmation is a small business located in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park area. Secmation’s mission is to develop cybersecurity technologies and products for automated systems in Defense and Critical Infrastructure applications. Secmation’s business model is to leverage investment from multiple, synergetic Government R&D programs to develop the platform for SecMUAS systems.

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