Quantum Security, Cybersecurity

Space Force works with RapidFort on post-quantum encryption defenses

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October 14, 2026 by Ivy Delaney

The U.S. Space Force is partnering with RapidFort through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to proactively address a looming threat to space-based assets: post-quantum encryption risk. This collaboration between SpaceWERX, the Space Force’s innovation arm, and RapidFort aims to accelerate the deployment of secure software while reducing vulnerabilities to emerging artificial intelligence-driven attacks, the company says.

“Partnering with SpaceWERX through this CRADA represents a major milestone in our mission to bridge commercial breakthroughs with national security priorities,” said Mehran Farimani, CEO of RapidFort. The CRADA will also focus on significantly reducing the time required for the Space Force to gain Authority to Operate (ATO) for new software.

RapidFort Platform Mitigates Post-Quantum Encryption & AI Risks

The Space Force is actively preparing for a future where current encryption standards are obsolete, a concern now being addressed through a new partnership with RapidFort. This proactive stance positions the Space Force to maintain secure communications and data integrity even as quantum technology advances. The CRADA will use RapidFort’s ecosystem of software and open-source partners to provide the Space Force with access to a broader range of expertise and accelerate the validation process for commercial solutions. “Our focus is clear: Empower the guardians to eliminate AI-driven software attack vectors at the source, accelerate so Guardians can field software without trading speed for security, and prepare space systems for emerging threats.” This accelerated ATO process is important given the rapid pace of technological change and the increasing sophistication of cyberattacks. The partnership also facilitates a reciprocal exchange of resources, granting RapidFort access to SpaceWERX’s operational experts and acquisition professionals.

This access allows for real-time feedback and refinement of capabilities, ensuring that commercial solutions directly address the evolving requirements of space-based operations, according to the company. “New RapidFort and SpaceWERX relationship addresses improvement of US Space Force cyber readiness, reduction of AI software exploitation risk, rapid acceleration of, and cybersecurity protection of space systems encryption risk,” the companies stated. The CRADA is designed to improve overall cyber readiness, enabling the Space Force to deploy new software securely and at operational speed, a critical capability in a contested space domain.

Partnering with SpaceWERX through this CRADA represents a milestone in our mission to bridge commercial breakthroughs with national security priorities.

Mehran Farimani, CEO of RapidFort

The joint research directly addresses the presidential order on securing the nation against advanced cryptographic attacks, signaling a proactive stance against a long-term threat to space-based assets. Beyond quantum vulnerabilities, the CRADA focuses on reducing the risk of exploitation from AI-driven software flaws. RapidFort’s access to SpaceWERX’s network of experts will facilitate efforts aligned with the recent executive order on promoting advanced Artificial Intelligence innovation and security. This collaborative approach aims to eliminate AI-driven attack vectors at their origin, rather than reacting to breaches after they occur. A key component of the CRADA involves accelerating the Space Force’s Authority to Operate (ATO) process, enabling faster deployment of new software. RapidFort’s complimentary Rapid ATO education and “Ask an Approving Officer Program” will provide both industry and Space Force Guardians with a repeatable pattern for achieving reduced ATO timescales.

This initiative aims to balance the need for rapid innovation with the imperative of maintaining robust security protocols. This collaborative framework extends beyond immediate technological advancements, establishing a larger industry consortium dedicated to co-developing, testing, and evaluating capabilities for space systems. RapidFort’s position on the governing board of the Akrites Project further demonstrates its commitment to community-based software initiatives and open-source principles.

New RapidFort and SpaceWERX relationship addresses improvement of US Space Force cyber readiness, reduction of AI software exploitation risk, rapid acceleration of ATOs, and cybersecurity protection of space systems from post-quantum encryption risk.

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Ivy Delaney

Ivy Delaney has been working with neural networks and machine learning since the mid-nineties, back when a couple of hidden layers and a long afternoon of training counted as ambitious. She has watched the field go from academic curiosity to the thing quietly running underneath everything, and she brings that long view to quantum computing. For Quantum Zeitgeist she covers the ground where the two fields meet. That means quantum machine learning and the variational algorithms it leans on, and it also means the less glamorous but more interesting story of classical machine learning already doing real work inside quantum machines, decoding error-correcting codes, calibrating noisy hardware and learning the error models that simulators depend on. She writes about the hardware those algorithms have to run on too, and about the post-quantum cryptography scramble that the same hardware has set off. Her stories typically start with the paper, whether that is peer-reviewed work, conference proceedings or an arXiv preprint, with the source linked so you can hold a claim up against the research it came from. She is unimpressed by benchmarks that will not say what they beat, and by demonstrations that only work in the press release.

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