March 2026: ATOMNIA and their OMNIA BLACK connection, protection and detection solution are announced as winners of the Start2Def award in the “Cyber security for Critical Infrastructure” category.

Start2Def 2026, led by Belgium’s Royal Higher Institute for Defence, is the inaugural defence tech accelerator programme that focuses on dual‑use tech innovations that will directly strengthen defence and critical infrastructure resilience.

“Being selected as finalist in the Cybersecurity category ranked ATOMNIA alongside a very small group of startups. Winning the category highlights the relevancy of our solution right now.” Says ATOMNIA’s CEO, Anthony Senter.

ATOMNIA is officially recognised as shaping the future operating picture for European defence and national resilience. A position further endorsed by Theo Franken, Belgium’s Minister of Defence and Foreign Trade, who said that the two START2DEF winners are, “Belgian innovation that will soon have a global impact.”

OMNIA and OMNIA BLACK for Defence and Critical Infrastructure

OMNIA is ATOMNIA’s all‑in‑one network and security platform, combining SD‑WAN, SASE and XDR into a single, tightly integrated solution designed for organisations seeking to reduce the cost and complexity of fragmented security and connectivity. It delivers resilient connectivity, SASE frameworks, encryption, advanced threat detection and rapid remediation across fixed sites, cloud environments and remote or mobile teams in a single operational plane.

OMNIA BLACK is the mission‑grade implementation of this stack: a ruggedised, quantum‑ready, all‑in‑one device that fuses hardware, SD‑WAN, SASE and XDR into one deployable unit. It delivers encrypted data, voice and video over multi‑path, ultra‑fast failover links, backed by in‑country, air‑gapped cloud gateways to preserve tactical sovereignty and absolute data control for defence and critical infrastructure operators.

For a defence operations centre, border surveillance system or national grid control room, this means: sensors stay online; command links remain available; and cyber incidents can be contained and remediated in real time instead of being analysed after the damage is done.

“As a team, we’ve always believed that critical infrastructure deserves the same level of protection as the most sensitive defence networks,” says CTO Toby Sturridge. “Winning Start2Def in this very category is recognition that we’re not just on the right path – we’re helping define what ‘defence‑grade’ cybersecurity looks like for the next decade in what many would describe as ‘non-defence arenas’, but areas that are actually prime targets for attacks.”

“As cyber criminals get smarter so do we. It’s no longer acceptable to take months or years to adapt to change our agility to quickly react to evolving needs differentiates us.” Anthony concludes.

What Winning Start2Def Means for the ATOMNIA Team

The Start2Def journey has showcased ATOMNIA to front‑line defence operators, critical infrastructure businesses and  leaders and deep‑tech mentors who understand how fragile legacy networks have become under modern hybrid threats. It has also stress‑tested OMNIA’s approach to combining SD‑WAN, SASE, and XDR into a single operational fabric, built for high‑assurance environments where downtime is simply not an option.

“This award belongs to every person on the ATOMNIA team who was willing to iterate late into the night, break things in the lab and rebuild them stronger,” says Anthony. “We are not here to be just another vendor; we are here to give operators the confidence to say: ‘we can stay online, even on the worst day.”

Toby adds, ”For our engineering team, Start2Def is both a pat on the back and a line in the sand. The bar has just been raised – by us.”

ATOMNIA: Enabling NIS2 Compliance and Securing the Supply Chain

NIS2 sets the bar on security, monitoring, incident response and supply‑chain assurance for operators of essential and important entities across the EU. OMNIA’s integrated SD‑WAN, SASE and XDR capabilities provide continuous visibility of network traffic, enforceable security policies across all sites and users, and 24/7 threat detection with automated response – all of which map directly to key NIS2 expectations around risk management, monitoring and incident handling.

OMNIA BLACK extends this by providing sovereign, in‑country infrastructure and air‑gapped control planes that help operators demonstrate where sensitive data flows, who can access it, and how it is protected – critical concerns under NIS2 and defence‑sector assurance regimes. By integrating technologies from partners like ACS into the XDR layer, ATOMNIA also strengthens security visibility and accountability across complex supply chains that underpin critical infrastructure.

For operators juggling hundreds of suppliers, contractors and technology vendors, this means fewer blind spots, faster forensics, and a clear, auditable story about how digital risks are controlled across the entire ecosystem – not just inside the perimeter.

The Road Ahead for ATOMNIA

Looking forward, Anthony is clear about what this win unlocks: “Start2Def is not our finish line; it is our launchpad. The next phase for ATOMNIA is about scaling OMNIA and OMNIA BLACK across allied defence and critical infrastructure networks, so that resilience is not a privilege – it is the default.”

Toby shares the same energy: “This award tells us that defence‑grade, quantum‑ready, XDR‑powered networking is no longer a crazy idea; it is the new baseline. The future of ATOMNIA is about pushing that baseline forward, until even the most sophisticated adversaries are forced to look at weaker targets.”

A Word of Thanks to IGNITY

ATOMNIA’s trajectory through Start2Def has been accelerated by the guidance and pressure‑testing that comes from being part of a serious deep‑tech accelerator. Programmes like Ignite‑style deep‑tech accelerators specialise in taking early‑stage, technically ambitious teams and preparing them for the realities of regulated, high‑stakes markets.

“We also want to thank IGNITY, our tech accelerator, for being the kind of partner that asks uncomfortable questions early, so our technology is unshakeable later,” says Anthony. “Their network, mentors, and constant focus on execution have helped us move faster without compromising on assurance.”

OMNIA BLACK is designed for defence and critical infrastructure organisations and businesses that manage sensitive data – FIND OUT MORE HERE

For SMEs find out more about affordable, manged and supported OMNIA SME and enterprises looking to scale an all-in-one affordable yet advanced connection, protection and detection solution built around their business and budget. READ MORE HERE