Illustration magazine cybersécurité d'une femme derrière un écran

Published on 02 May 2022, updated on 10 June 2024

European cybersecurity: how can we build a safer digital society?

 

Hugues Foulon
Guest editor

Sadly, not a day goes by without a public sector organization, hospital, factory, business, utility network, or media outlet being targeted by a cyberattack. With our societies now ultra-connected, the consequences are very real: loss of life, ransoms and bankruptcies, production delays, fake news, and political destabilization.
Faced with increasingly numerous and visible threats, everyone should be aware of the risks associated with digital uses. As a worldwide network operator and European leader in cybersecurity services for businesses through Orange Cyberdefense, Orange is at the forefront of detecting these threats and protecting its thousands of customers.

What are the main threats? How do you respond? Who do you trust? How do we protect sovereignty? Here are just some of the questions tackled by our latest Orange magazine.
I firmly believe cybersecurity is a collective effort to ensure everyone is protected: I hope that by reading this magazine, you’ll join our cause. Enjoy!

 

Cybersecurity market growth in 2021
worldwide +10%
in Europe +8,3%

Illustration d'un ordinateur

75%
of attacks target midsize businesses

Annual cost of cybercrime
$6 trillion

Global cybersecurity job vacanciers
 2,5 millions

Ransomware :  35% of victims lost access to their data and IT system

 

Hugues Foulon: The plethora of cyber threats can at first sight be alarming, so it’s essential to be aware of them and the stakeholders involved. Prefect Olivier de Mazières shares his vision of the private and public cyber ecosystem, along with the initiatives that France and the European Union are leading to strengthen our digital resilience.


Cyber threats: scale and scope of the French State

Prefect Olivier de Mazières,
Prefect and Ministerial Delegate for Partnerships, Strategies and Security Industries (DPSIS) -
Ministry of Interior

Olivier de Mazières is the Prefect and Ministerial Delegate for Partnerships, Strategies and Security Industries (DPSIS). Created in September 2020, the DPSIS coordinates the various French public security entities to develop cooperation, especially in terms of cybersecurity, between national agencies such as ANSSI and the private sector. Prefect Olivier de Mazières presents the extent of cyber threats facing France and the State’s response to their acceleration.


Cyberattacks are on the rise in France and Europe, with crime more coordinated and sophisticated. How do you analyze the different types of cyber threats?

Olivier de Mazières:Cyber is a subset of the digital sector. When a hacker takes over a digital service, launches a denial-of-service attack, or compromises a database, this is cyber. I see four main categories of threats. Read more>

 

Hugues Foulon: With cyberattacks increasing, I firmly believe we must all continue to improve our level of security by strengthening our cyber ecosystem at an EU level. Laurent Giovachini, President of the Syntec Federation and Deputy CEO of Sopra Steria says we’re still some way off achieving the “Airbus of cybersecurity”.

 

Sovereignty, trust, and competitiveness: the end goal for public-private cyberdefense cooperation

Faced with constantly growing cyber threats, cooperation between players in the cyber ecosystem (whether state administrations, public authorities, large companies or start-ups) is more essential than ever to strengthen our economic sovereignty within Europe. Chair of the Syntec Federation and Deputy CEO of Sopra Steria, Laurent Giovachini, gives an overview of public-private cooperation in cyberdefense. Read more>

 

Hugues Foulon: Cyberattacks have a tangible impact. If digital sometimes seems like a parallel world, there are still grave consequences in real life. Read about how AFNOR, which fell victim to a cyberattack in 2021, responded as share the lessons they learned. Many thanks to AFNOR for their openness.

 

 

 

 

It began on Thursday 18 February 2021, in the early morning [...].
Once inside our system, they acted very quickly.

 

 

Olivier Peyrat,
Chief Executive Officer
AFNOR Group

Frédéric Leconte,
Chief Information Officer
AFNOR Group

What do you do in the event of a cyberattack? AFNOR shares its experience

Operating since 1926, the French Association for Standardization (AFNOR) designs and deploys solutions based on voluntary standards with an exclusively French, European, or even global dimension. The Group serves the general interest in its standardization activities and provides services in such competitive sectors as training, professional and technical information and intelligence, assessment, and certification. It is part of a connected ecosystem of more than 69,000 customers around the world, a central position that makes it a prime target for cybercriminals. Read more>

 

Hugues Foulon: The European cybersecurity market is growing, and customer needs are diverse. At Orange Cyberdefense, our cybersecurity strategy covers the needs of our customers according to their size and business sector. You’ll also find information about the market and a summary of our key activities.


Cybersecurity: a booming market in Europe

Quentin Toussaint,
Executive Vice President
Belgium, Netherlands, Germany
and the UK at
Orange Cyberdefense

Laurent Celerier,
Executive Vice President
Technology &
Marketing at
Orange Cyberdefense

The European cybersecurity market is growing, by more than 8% in 2021. At a time when business sectors such as financial services, health and industry are accelerating their digital transformation, detecting, and responding to cyber threats has become an urgent business priority on a continental scale. For European players, there is considerable growth potential. Here’s why cybersecurity is one of today’s greatest business priorities, and the role Orange Cyberdefense plays in this booming market.

In its latest study, market intelligence consultancy IDC estimates the European cybersecurity market to be worth nearly €34 billion in 2021, up 8.3% compared to 2020. Read more>

 

Hugues Foulon: As strange as it may sometimes seem in a technical world such as cybersecurity, our expertise and relevance is down to our teams who watch over our customers 24/7. Training, attracting, and enabling talent to develop is therefore a major priority, both for the cybersecurity industry and for our society which relies so heavily on these digital guardian angels.

 

Why does European cybersecurity pose a talent challenge?

 

Elisabeth Fonteix,
Learning & Development Director
Group

Angus McMichael,
Human Resources at
Orange Cyberdefense

 

The cybersecurity sector is growing, driven by an exponential increase in digital services and business transformation. The ramifications in terms of recruitment are considerable: there are 350,000 job vacancies in Europe. To understand this skills challenge within the European cybersecurity sector, Elisabeth Fonteix (Orange Group Director of Learning & Development) and Angus McMichael (Orange Cyberdefense Global HR Director) share their vision with us.

Worldwide, there are currently more than 2.5 million cybersecurity vacancies, including 350,000 in Europe. In France too, companies are struggling to find candidates while the sector is set to double its needs to reach 75,000 jobs by 2025.
Read more>

 

 

Hugues Foulon: As you now understand, cybersecurity concerns us all. At the business level, cybersecurity has become essential to ensure sustainability: discover simple measures that limit the risks. And because everyone is responsible for keeping their organization safe, learn three simple digital things you can do to avoid a lot of trouble!

Cybersecurity in business: each player in the value chain must cooperate

With our societies becoming ever more digital, all companies, regardless of their size or business sector, are exposed to a growing number of cyber threats. The move towards hybrid working patterns, not just as an immediate response to managing the pandemic but as part of a permanent shift, is also driven by a new kind of social aspiration, increasing the risks. Read more>

Cyber ​​protection: three things you should do in the office and at home

With cyberattacks now ubiquitous, how can you prevent risks and protect your personal data online? Here are three cyber tips to boost your protection professionally and personally. Read more>

 

I hope that this latest cybersecurity edition has clarified the threats, stakeholders and challenges within an exciting universe that involves us all, directly or indirectly. While the digital space can only be thought of globally, Europe has a role to play in developing high security standards and promoting the emergence of major industrial players. Our digital sovereignty cannot be decreed, it must be strengthened every day by our responsible behavior and our collective anticipation of threats.

Together and in line with Orange’s purpose, we all have a role to play as individuals, companies, and nations to jointly build a truly safer digital world. - Hugues Foulon, CEO Orange Cyberdefense, EVP Strategy and Cybersecurity activities for the Orange Group