Recorded Live In Tallinn Ahead Of The Software Defined Space Conference

What does cybersecurity look like beyond Earth’s atmosphere? That is the question at the heart of this special Conversations From The Showfloor episode, recorded in Tallinn on the eve of the Software Defined Space Conference.

I sat down with Kristiina Omri, Vice President of Special Programs at CybExer Technologies, and Aare Reintam, the company’s COO, to explore how Estonia, in collaboration with European Space Agency, is shaping the future of space cybersecurity through the world’s first Space Cyber Range.

The origin story is unexpected. For Aare, fascination with space began as a child in the Soviet era, eating marmalade from a tube like the kind sent to astronauts in orbit. Decades later, that early spark evolved into a partnership with ESA focused on securing the increasingly software-driven systems that now power life in space.

At the center of our discussion is the Space Cyber Range, a digital testing environment that allows satellites, ground stations, and communication protocols to be stress-tested long before launch. Using digital twins and immersive simulation, CybExer recreates mission control systems so realistically that engineers and operators cannot distinguish training from reality. Under simulated attack conditions, defenders face adversaries who are allowed to push systems to their limits, revealing vulnerabilities that would be too risky or too expensive to test in orbit.

We explore why this matters now. Satellites underpin GPS navigation, air travel, agriculture, banking, climate monitoring, and global communications. Yet many long-life orbital systems were designed decades ago, before today’s threat landscape. As commercial space missions multiply and low-earth orbit grows crowded, the consequences of a cyber breach could ripple far beyond space, from disrupted harvests to grounded aircraft and financial instability.

Kristiina explains the widening skills gap at the intersection of space engineering and cybersecurity. Universities may produce cyber specialists and aerospace engineers, but professionals fluent in both domains remain rare. In response, new educational initiatives are emerging in Estonia to combine these disciplines, reflecting the urgent demand for hybrid expertise.

We also examine the strategic dimension. As quantum computing capabilities evolve and cyber and kinetic threats converge, simulation environments become essential. Digital twin technologies allow nations and companies to rehearse worst-case scenarios without triggering real-world damage. From encrypted satellite commands to orbital collision risks, the stakes extend well beyond technical failure to societal trust itself.

By the end of our conversation, one theme stands out clearly. Cybersecurity is no longer confined to data centers and enterprise networks. It now extends into orbit, where resilience, interoperability, and trust must be engineered from the ground up.

Conversations From The Showfloor is your front-row pass to the most important conversations happening in enterprise technology today. Recorded live at global conferences, each episode captures candid discussions with leaders shaping the future of business, infrastructure, and security.

Search “Tech Talks Network” to discover other shows in the series and follow to hear new episodes as they drop from events around the world.

What role does cybersecurity play when the battlefield extends beyond Earth’s atmosphere? In this special episode of Conversations From The Showfloor, recorded live in Tallinn for the fifth anniversary of the Software Defined Space Conference, I sit down with Kalev Koidumäe, CEO of the Estonian Defence and Aerospace Industry Association.

We explore how a nation of just 1.3 million people has built global credibility in cyber resilience, defense technology, and space innovation. Estonia’s journey, shaped in part by the 2007 state-level cyberattack, has forged a culture where digital readiness is embedded across government, industry, and education. Cyber hygiene is taught in schools. Reserve officers bring operational insight into business. Public and private sectors collaborate with shared purpose.

Kalev explains how space has become a core defense domain within NATO, alongside land, sea, air, and cyber. Satellites now underpin operational planning, navigation, weather intelligence, targeting systems, and communications. In modern conflict, space infrastructure and cybersecurity are inseparable. Protecting software-defined systems has become as important as defending physical territory.

Our conversation also examines how lessons from the war in Ukraine are accelerating innovation across Europe. From AI-enabled battlefield analytics to autonomous systems and advanced sensor technologies, Estonia’s companies are carving out specialist roles within global supply chains. Smaller nations may not build the largest platforms, but they can provide highly specialized subsystems, software, and cyber capabilities that strengthen collective defense.

We also discuss the balance between sovereignty and collaboration. Estonia’s reserve army model, growing defense investments, and expanding industrial ecosystem reflect a society that sees innovation as a civic responsibility. Domestic resilience strengthens international partnerships. And as defense budgets rise across Europe, Estonia is positioning its ecosystem to contribute both locally and globally.

This episode offers a grounded, strategic look at how software, cyber readiness, and space technologies are reshaping modern defense. It also raises bigger questions about education, automation, AI, and the next generation of digital-native citizens who will inherit this rapidly evolving landscape.

So what can larger nations learn from Estonia’s approach to readiness, innovation, and collective security? And as space becomes increasingly software-defined, how should leaders rethink the relationship between cyber resilience and national defense?

Conversations From The Showfloor is your front-row pass to the most important conversations happening in enterprise technology today. Recorded live at global conferences, each episode captures candid discussions with leaders shaping the future of business, infrastructure, security, and innovation.

Search “Tech Talks Network” to discover other shows in the series and follow to hear new episodes as they drop from events around the world.

What happens when you record a security conversation in a venue built inside an Austrian mountain? You get something that feels sharper, more grounded, and far more human than a typical industry chat. I sat down with Adam Khan, VP of Global Security Operations at Barracuda XDR, and Eric Russo, Director of SOC Defensive Security, during Barracuda TechSummit25 in Alpbach, where the peaks rise on every side and the air seems to clear the noise around modern cybersecurity.

Adam and Eric lead the teams that track, interpret, and act on attacks moving across email, identity, networks, cloud, and endpoints. This is the engine room behind Barracuda XDR, and our conversation dug into what those operations actually look like when threats move fast and visibility is everything. What struck me most was the mix of optimism and realism. Adam speaks with three decades of hard-earned experience, yet carries a sense of purpose that feels rare in a field defined by bad headlines. Eric brings a forensic lens shaped by years inside the SOC, where decisions must be made in seconds rather than hours. Together they paint a picture of how attacks unfold today and why integrated defense has become the only viable way to keep pace.

We talked about the way attackers now operate as coordinated units with their own playbooks, and how the best cyber defenders are beginning to mirror that discipline. Adam shared a football formation metaphor that landed with everyone in the room, showing how the principles of pressure, spacing, and anticipation mirror what security teams deal with every day. That analogy extended into real stories of ransomware groups such as Akira, and how the Barracuda SOC has been intercepting attacks that begin with zero day VPN exploits and then cascade into email and endpoint compromise. Hearing both of them describe how XDR stitches those layers together into a single view made the stakes feel clearer. Without that shift, the noise, the tool sprawl, and the speed of attacks would bury even the most experienced teams.

There was also a moment where cybersecurity met Home Alone, and it worked in a way I never expected. Adam explained XDR through Kevin McCallister’s improvised defence of the family home, and it became the simplest way I have ever heard the concept explained. It reminded everyone listening why clarity matters, especially when the language in this industry can easily shut people out. Eric followed with a view on automation, AI, and the shift from reactive investigation to proactive threat hunting. The two perspectives created a fuller picture of where the field is heading and why integrated platforms are quickly replacing the old model of isolated point tools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrAsYyGo6Yk

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