The French army under cyber threat?
French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu called this Tuesday for the strengthening of security measures in the face of threats of Russian “sabotage and cyberattack” which target his ministry “first and foremost”, according to an internal memo of which AFP was aware.
“Since the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Federation has entered into a balance of power with France and its partners by carrying out, below the threshold of escalation, hybrid interference operations.
These attacks primarily concern the Ministry of the Armed Forces,” explains the note from the Ministry of the Armed Forces.
Last spring, the sites of the French National Assembly and Senate were targeted by cyberattacks from pro-Russian hackers.
Also read: War in Ukraine: how Vladimir Putin built up a limitless army of hackers
France also revealed on February 12 the existence of a “structured and coordinated” network of sites disseminating Russian propaganda in Europe and the United States.
“The signing of a security agreement between France and Ukraine risks leading Russia to toughen up these operations to increase its influence, discredit our action and weaken our national cohesion,” according to this note, ordering measures to “reduce vulnerabilities in the face of subversive actions that could affect our personnel, our infrastructure, our teams or even our activities.”
Ministry service providers, potential targets
The minister mentions in particular “threats of sabotage and cyberattack which can weigh on staff and their family environment, installations, information systems and networks”.
Awareness of these risks should also target “public establishments under supervision, operators of vital importance and service providers, which work with the Ministry of the Armed Forces and may constitute targets for Russia, in particular the defense industries network”, adds -he.
On Friday, Emmanuel Macron affirmed that Moscow had “crossed several thresholds” in its cyberattacks, seeing in it “a desire for aggression”.