On the occasion of the International Forum on Cybersecurity, Guillaume Bobard, President of the French National Information Systems Security Agency, known by the acronym ANSSI;

An explanation of the cyber threat, especially ransomware, from which companies and hospitals were not spared, and he seemed optimistic about the struggle against intruders, whether they were geopolitically motivated or motivated by cyber espionage that the Pegasus case recently highlighted, or it was related to the infiltration of the great powers into computer systems.

To shed light on this, the French newspaper Le Parisien interviewed Boubard, who heads an agency of 600 professionals called to rescue government entities and strategic companies affected by cyber attacks, and has not avoided raising any hot topic.

Two years ago, Poupard reminded the newspaper of the possibility of a digital “Pearl Harbor” with a devastating wave of cyber attacks, and asked him: Did that happen?

Laird responds that there is a decrease in the increase in attacks, as they did not proceed on the basis of an engineering sequence, but the worst is still to come, because the sum of ransomware has a real impact on our economy, and we do not know how to identify the stolen during industrial espionage, and this is not a hypothetical risk but an unattainable reality for improvement.

More cooperation

Boubar pointed out that the other area of ​​concern is hostile intrusion and pre-positioning campaigns in computer systems, because if a decision is made to inflict damage through them, it will cause a lot of destruction, and the “recent campaigns that we discovered have been targeting the energy sector, and they are enormous in terms of means. It is used, the number of people standing behind it, and the level of technology, especially since it does not target a specific company or program, and that there are countries - I will not name them - that have made them a priority, and put their best elements on them, and you can imagine what the situation could be like after 5 years.

The newspaper asked: What awaits us in the medium term?

Boubar replies that his analysis predicts more mutual assistance and more strength to protect against ransomware, adding that he is "confident about the future in terms of cybercrime, as countries are becoming increasingly aggressive in the face of this scourge."

As for aggressive campaigns at the level of state agencies, the situation is completely different for Boubar.

Because the major spying campaigns include large countries, and they will not stop because they are consistent with the geopolitical development and the existing forces are ready for it. Analysts describe it as a “cold war,” even if it is far from cold. It is heading towards balance because there is a need for mutual respect and the promotion of peace despite the need for war in Sometimes, international law is also needed in order to prevent everyone from doing anything in cyberspace.

Poupard predicted two years ago that a digital “Pearl Harbor” could occur with a devastating wave of cyber attacks (Getty Images)

Hospital status

The head of the agency indicated that the hospitals were attacked due to the ease of the matter, because their owners do not believe that they are vulnerable to targeting, but now - as he says - they have raised the level of their protection and changed their priorities by investing in their security, and we help them by intervening in the event of a problem, and through Regulate and classify them as essential service operators, as this requires a more demanding level of cybersecurity.

Despite the awareness and continuity plan developed at the source, the Arles Hospital Center was exposed to the ransom virus this summer, says Boubar, noting that protecting hospitals takes time, because there are medical equipment that is difficult to secure using old computers, especially since hospitals do not have the right to Frequently update certain devices for fear of losing the warranty.

Pegasus

When asked what lessons can be learned from the information disclosed about Pegasus, the head of the French National Information Systems Security Agency said that they had received phones suspected of being targeted in their laboratories, "and we have developed tools to detect infection, while increasing and facilitating our ability to test more devices." Remotely, because I don't want there to be a queue in front of our headquarters, and like the coronavirus our strategy cannot be reduced to testing all devices because it doesn't solve anything.

The story of Pegasus - according to Boubar - was not a strategic surprise, because there are effective espionage tools that are difficult to control, and sometimes out of control, and therefore these discoveries confirm what was known theoretically, and there is awareness indicating the control of these tools, but not to ban them, Because there is a legitimate need for some actors, but the rules must be set because these weapons are sent by e-mail, which means that it is difficult to control their export.