Espanaro demonstrates secure data-sharing technology at NATO exercises

UK defence technology company Espanaro has demonstrated a secure data-sharing capability at two NATO exercises, showing how sensitive information can remain protected even as it moves between different organisations, systems and nations.

During NATO’s Exercise Accelerator 2.0 at Defence BattleLab in Dorset, the company integrated its data-centric security (DCS) capability with a partner’s logistics planning platform. Instead of relying solely on network security, the system protects the data itself, ensuring information can only be accessed by authorised users and systems.

The exercise, led by the British Army and involving more than 300 soldiers, engineers, software developers and defence companies, tested how quickly information can be shared and exploited in coalition operations.

Espanaro encrypted planning data and shared it through its ByteHarbour platform, allowing partners to access only the information they were authorised to see.

At a separate NATO interoperability exercise in Poland, the company also applied the same approach to live video feeds, with AI tools automatically identifying events and protecting generated imagery using the same security policies.

How the technology works

Espanaro’s ByteHarbour platform secures data at the point it is created, while HarbourGuard controls who can access it based on predefined policies. Consilium provides operators with a common operating picture and helps ensure information is delivered to the appropriate user or system. The technologies are designed to work with existing military systems and align with NATO standards including ACP 240 and STANAG 4774/4778.

Data-centric security (DCS) is also the foundation for the next step NATO is taking: data-centric interoperability. NATO’s Data Centric Reference Architecture describes it as data-centric security combined with zero trust, federated identity and attribute-based access control.

According to Espanaro, the aim is to ensure the right information reaches the right person, or system, at the right time, while maintaining control over how that information is used.

Dan Edmunds (above), Founder and CEO of Espanaro, said: “NATO has set 2028 for Level 2 and 2033 for Level 3. We have now shown both, on live exercise networks, in 2026. Coalitions share information across national and classification boundaries every day and the network is no longer a safe place to put the protection. This is a sovereign UK capability, built by a veteran-owned team and it is ready to demonstrate on real problems now.”