IEEE RISC 2026 Call for Papers

Important dates:

Round 1 Submission Dates:
Time ZoneAnywhere on Earth
Submission Deadline: June 1, 2026
Notification of Acceptance Date: July 25, 2026
Camera Ready Due: August 15, 2026

Round 2 Submission Dates:
Time ZoneAnywhere on Earth
Submission Deadline: August 15, 2026
Notification of Acceptance Date: September 20, 2026
Camera Ready Due: September 30, 2026

Space technologies are no longer passive infrastructure; they are active drivers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Through global connectivity, remote sensing, and Earth observation, space systems now form the backbone of critical terrestrial operations. The growing involvement of commercial players and the democratization of space access are accelerating this transformation at an unprecedented pace.

Space systems are increasingly embedded within critical cyber-physical ecosystems, directly enabling and shaping autonomous transportation, smart energy grids, water treatment plants, disaster response, global communications, defense operations, space medicine, and deep-space exploration. This deep integration means that the security and resilience of space systems is no longer a niche concern. It is a foundational requirement for societal continuity.

Yet the unique operational environment of space introduces distinct and underexplored security challenges. Space systems depend on complex, long-lifecycle software and hardware exposed to supply chain manipulation, network-based intrusions, adversarial AI, electronic warfare, and nation-state threats. As these systems become increasingly intertwined with critical infrastructure on the ground, in the air, and in orbit, the attack surface expands in ways that existing security frameworks are not equipped to address.

RISC is the premier venue for security and resilience research where space systems are the subject, the enabler, or a point of failure. We welcome original submissions addressing the security and resilience of space systems, space-related assets, cyber-physical integration, supporting ground systems, and emerging threats across terrestrial and non-terrestrial critical systems. RISC places particular emphasis on high-consequence domains where space dependencies are least understood and unprotected: autonomous transportation, smart energy grids, space medicine, and deep-space human exploration. In these domains security failure carries severe consequences.

• Submission Guidelines
RISC welcomes submissions in the following categories:

Full Paper (8–10 pages)
Original research contributions with thorough evaluation and analysis. Full papers are expected to present novel findings with significant scientific or engineering contribution to the security and resilience of space and critical systems.

Contributions can also be presenting novel datasets, testbeds, or simulation platforms relevant to space systems security and resilience. Accepted dataset papers must include a data availability statement describing how the dataset will be accessed or shared.

Poster (2-page abstract)
Work-in-progress, preliminary results, and student research. Accepted posters will be presented during a dedicated interactive session and included in the conference proceedings. Posters are particularly encouraged for PhD students at early stages of their research.

The papers should be submitted to their respective tracks in the conference in EasyChair. All submissions must be original, unpublished work not currently under review elsewhere. Papers must follow the IEEE conference formatting guidelines should be up to 10 pages, anonymously in the standard two column IEEE proceedings format, including the bibliography, appendices, and supplementary material. which can be found at IEEE Manuscript Templates for Conference Proceedings . Authors should not change the font or the margins of the IEEE format. Papers should avoid revealing authors’ identity in the text. When referring to their previous work, authors are required to cite their papers in the third person, without identifying themselves. All posters must include "Poster:" as a prefix to the title of the submitted 2-page description.

• Review Policy
IEEE Policy and professional ethics require that referees treat the contents of papers under review as privileged information not to be disclosed to others before publication. It is expected that no one with access to a paper under review will make any inappropriate use of the special knowledge, which that access provides. Contents of abstracts submitted to conference program committees should be regarded as privileged as well, and handled in the same manner. The Conference Publications Chair shall ensure that referees adhere to this practice.

Organizers of IEEE conferences are expected to provide an appropriate forum for the oral presentation and discussion of all accepted papers. An author, in offering a paper for presentation at an IEEE conference, or accepting an invitation to present a paper, is expected to be present at the meeting to deliver the paper. In the event that circumstances unknown at the time of submission of a paper preclude its presentation by an author, the program chair should be informed on time, and appropriate substitute arrangements should be made. In some cases it may help reduce no-shows for the Conference to require advance registration together with the submission of the final manuscript.

• List of Topics
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Space Systems Security and Resilience:
Security and resilience of satellite constellations, orbital infrastructure, and ground control systems across LEO, MEO, and GEO
Security and resilience of supporting ground systems
Secure Telemetry, Tracking, and Command (TT&C) protocols, over-the-air updates, and anomaly/intrusion detection for space assets
AI/ML, trustworthy autonomy, and edge AI security for space operations and cyber defense
Secure hardware, firmware, and supply chain assurance for space systems

• Communications and Cryptography:
Post-quantum cryptography and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) for space-to-ground and inter-satellite links
Spoofing, jamming, and anti-interference for space-based navigation and communications
Secure software-defined networking for space systems

• Cyber-Physical Integration and Critical Infrastructure:
Secure integration of space systems with terrestrial cyber-physical, IIoT, and cross-layer infrastructures
Security and resilience of space-dependent transportation, energy, water, and autonomous systems
Digital twins for space infrastructure modeling and resilience assessment

• Adversarial Threats:
Cyber threats targeting space assets
Threat modeling, adversarial AI, and offensive security in space cyber conflict

• High-Consequence Applications Policy & Governance:
Security and resilience for space medicine, deep-space exploration, and disaster response
Policy, standards, and regulatory frameworks for space cybersecurity and resilience

• Emerging and Special Topics
Resilient Space Medicine:
As space missions transition from Earth-reliant to Earth-independent, the resilience of onboard medical and biological systems becomes a primary security concern. To address this, we seek papers on the engineering of autonomous medical architectures that can withstand the "new normal" of deep space environments.

Security of the "Internet of Medical Things" (IoMT)
Radiation-Resilient Computing for In Situ Analytics
Self-Driving Labs & Biological Automation
Explainable AI (xAI) for Clinical Autonomy
Cyber-Biosecurity & Genomic Privacy.

• Awards
IEEE RISC will feature a Best Paper award and a Best Student Paper award (to be selected by the program committee/best paper award team). A paper is eligible for the Best Student Paper award if the first author is a full-time student at the time of submission. A partial travel grant or cash award may be offered to the winner student depending on fund availability.

• Camera-Ready Instructions
Congratulations on your paper's acceptance! Please follow these instructions carefully to prepare and submit your camera-ready version. All submissions must be made through the IEEE Conference Publishing Services (CPS) Author Kit system, which ensures compliance with formatting and publication standards.

Submission Process
Use the IEEE CPS Author Kit submission site to complete the following steps in order:

Register or Log In: If you do not have an IEEE CPS account, create one before proceeding. This is required to access the Author Kit.
Enter Paper Metadata: Input your paper's details (Use your EasyChair paper ID as the reference ID if prompted).
Format and Verify Your Paper: Prepare your manuscript using the provided templates and guidelines of the system. Ensure it meets all formatting requirements, such as IEEE conference style, page limits.
Submit Copyright: Complete the electronic copyright transfer form as required by IEEE CPS. This is a mandatory step for publication.
Upload Final Paper: Submit the verified PDF of your camera-ready manuscript.

Important Notes
Deadline: Adhere strictly to the camera-ready submission deadline.
Guidelines and Resources: Follow all instructions on the IEEE CPS Author Kit page meticulously.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid: Do not add new content, authors, or affiliations after acceptance without prior approval from program chairs; ensure that your PDF is generated correctly (e.g., no watermarks or annotations).
Support: If you encounter any issues or have questions about the submission process, contact the IEEE proceedings production editor: Cristina Ceballos (c.ceballos[AT]contractor.ieee.org). For conference proceeding specific queries, reach out to the proceeding chairs.