As technological dependence grows and cyber threats multiply, the European Union has made digital sovereignty a top strategic priority. Orange is fully committed to this effort, leveraging our experts, infrastructure, innovations, and partnerships to build a European digital ecosystem that is independent, secure, and ethical.
It’s worth noting: 96% of attacks from a highly influential pro-Russian hacktivist group targeted Europe, according to Orange Cyberdefense’s Security Navigator 2025 report. Europe is clearly in the crosshairs. These attacks are no longer just website hacks. They are increasingly sophisticated, targeting critical infrastructure, shutting down hospitals, and paralyzing commercial ports.
Hugues Foulon, CEO of Orange Cyberdefense, explains that responding to these threats can’t be a one-sided effort. Cybersecurity is a “team sport” that requires institutions, businesses, and individuals to work together on a transnational scale, combining resources, skills, and vigilance.
Cybersecurity in Europe: a collective challenge
Cyber threats are growing in power and creativity. Malicious groups combine technical attacks with psychological manipulation to undermine public trust. Their strength is amplified by access to significant resources, including support from state actors or well-funded groups. Critical sectors are often the target.
According to the Security Navigator 2025 report, 46% of attacks on OT (operational technology) systems result in control over industrial production sites. With more interconnected systems, the number of components that need end-to-end security has multiplied. The consequences are all too real: hospitals impacted in Romania, Spain, or Belgium, disrupted rail traffic across multiple countries. Digital trust is also under pressure from disinformation campaigns, threats to personal data, election manipulation, and attacks on institutions. Effective solutions are essential.
At Orange, we’re strengthening our response. We secure our own infrastructure through administration systems, invest in network resilience, and ensure multiple routing options by sea, land, air, and even satellite. Our 24/7 monitoring centers track network health, proactively detecting incidents, abnormal behavior, or vulnerabilities, and isolating any infected systems quickly. We pay special attention to undersea cables, with cable-laying ships ready to respond rapidly. Advanced AI-driven tools help detect and manage incidents before they escalate.
In addition, our subsidiary Orange Cyberdefense, Europe’s cybersecurity leader, actively protects businesses and citizens by securing digital flows through SOCs (Security Operations Centers) that monitor networks in real time. It also supports companies in strengthening cybersecurity, conducting audits, delivering training, and preparing continuity and recovery plans to respond effectively to incidents and attacks.
Connectivity, Cybersecurity, and... Cloud
Protecting networks and services isn’t enough. Sovereign data hosting and control over data in transit are critical, along with compliance with international regulations. Dependence on major U.S. tech companies also poses a challenge, as they may have to enforce U.S. law outside their own jurisdiction.
For some of our clients, digital sovereignty is about reducing reliance on non-European actors and ensuring they are not subject to external decisions. Orange Business gives companies a choice of trusted solutions that let them innovate while maintaining competitiveness and autonomy.
This is the idea behind our Cloud Avenue platforms, designed to meet security and sovereignty requirements for some clients.
With data centers in France, Germany, Sweden, and Norway, this hosting suite meets the strictest European standards for security, data control, and compliance with regulations like GDPR. In July 2025, our Cloud Avenue SecNum platform, deployed at our Grenoble data center, achieved the highest security certification awarded by ANSSI: the “SecNumCloud” qualification for both shared and dedicated IaaS environments. Operated exclusively by our French teams, it features data encryption, fine-grained key management, network environment segregation, and strict access control.
Infrastructure protection at the heart of partnerships
Infrastructure is central to collaboration. In 2025, Orange Cyberdefense deployed a shared SOC for all French maritime ports, covering 99% of import/export goods flows. “High-level protection is essential to secure our port and logistics infrastructure,” says Julien Prével, a member of the GIE (Groupement d'Interêt Économique) France PCS (Port Community Systems).
Security also extends to space. Through the Iris² project, Orange will contribute to a European sovereign satellite constellation, ensuring strategic autonomy and secure communications for EU institutions, critical infrastructure, and the private sector.
Responsible AI for a sovereign digital future
Generative AI brings new challenges. Orange collaborates with multiple AI model providers and signed a partnership with Mistral AI in February 2025. The goal is to offer their solutions, including the assistant “Le Chat,” to Orange France clients while combining research and innovation capabilities. The combination of European networks and AI ensures faster, more reliable infrastructure and intelligent systems that optimize performance. Live Intelligence, our Orange Business offering, secures the growing use of generative AI in companies.
As Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange summarizes, this approach “will support widespread adoption of AI and unlock its full potential through high-performance networks adapted to real-time conversations.”
Digital resilience: everyone’s responsibility
Orange has always worked to strengthen global connectivity. Security is integrated into the design of our infrastructure, automatically detecting and correcting vulnerabilities while maintaining resilient systems. Disaggregated network functions make updates fast and easy. New software tools allow continuous updates, keeping applications secure at every step.
We build infrastructure to connect communities and territories, promoting digital cooperation and exchange. Today, this also means protecting everyone according to their needs. Orange Cybersecure, being rolled out across the EU, gives households a simple, effective shield against viruses, phishing, malware, and unwanted calls—covering up to ten devices per home.
SMEs, often on the front line but with limited resources, can rely on Orange Cyberdefense’s Micro-SOC solution: a digital watchdog combining human and technological expertise, offered at an accessible cost, capable of detecting and stopping threats.
Large companies and public institutions benefit from more comprehensive solutions: audits, incident response, crisis management, and business continuity. Innovation fuels this arsenal, with tools like ThreatNet, which continuously monitors Orange’s internal network to anticipate attacks and protect IT network integrity.
The message is clear: threats are multiplying, and technological landscapes are shifting. European digital sovereignty is central to our strategy. We aim to be a trusted partner for institutions, businesses, and citizens. Building a sovereign European digital ecosystem is a “team sport,” relying on cooperation and shared expertise.
This challenge requires secure and resilient network infrastructure, trusted sovereign cloud services, and responsible AI developed through European partnerships. Our experts worldwide remain essential. The next steps are crucial: we must constantly ensure network resilience, support widespread and responsible AI adoption, and continue building an interoperable, open, and ethical technology ecosystem. Promoting a “European preference” for major public projects is also key. These are essential goals that guide us in creating a safe and responsible digital future for everyone.