The scene takes place in the asphalt of Bourget’s aeronautical show, two years ago. A person is very interested in certain parts of the A400M military aircraft exposed by the Air Force and space. Dressed by the soldiers who monitor the podium, this person will be taken quickly at the exit, not without asking him to erase the photos.
If this person’s final intentions are not known, the scene, on the other hand, says a lot about the dangers in which manufacturers who participate in this exhibition can be exhibited. Because you have to show your skills, without revealing the manufacturing secrets that could be copied and used by others.
More and more interference
With 2,400 exhibitors from 48 countries, several hundred official delegations, the Bourget Aeronautics Fair that will open its doors on June 16, attach the interest … and attracts the curious, either during the days reserved for professionals, but also during the weekend that well vein the general public. Because the meeting place for global aeronautics is the best place to discover the latest innovations, discover new companies, weave commercial links and why not try to scrape confidential or strategic information.
Therefore, an armament fair can become “a place of all threats,” said General Philippe Susnjara, head of the very discreet direction of intelligence and defense security (DRSD), during a press point in the Ministry of Armies.
The Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, also declared during an audience in the Senate in 2024 that during the period 2022-2023, around fifty strategic companies in the defense sector had been subject to espionage attempts, cyber attacks, robberies or even sabotage, an increase of 25% recorded since 2021.
If large companies in the BITD (Industrial and Technological Defense Base) mainly have well -established internal protection systems, very small companies, SMEs and ETI are often more vulnerable: subcontractors represent 80% of the attacks.
According to him, the media implemented by the opposite parties are “increasingly sophisticated, increasingly discreet and powerful.” The most “simple” techniques: very precise questions, models photographs or a computer flight, for example, rub shoulders with more tortuous processes, such as sucking data remotely on a mobile phone or installing a cookie.
Opponents are not only economical, but they are also a state. Companies observe what the competition does, but the states are also interested in what the neighbor produces. And the countries considered as “traditional allies” do not refrain from stealing …
“Investigate to protect”
Upstream of the 55th edition of the largest aeronautical show in the world, the DRSD organized awareness sessions for companies, what to do to protect their technologies and how to protect themselves from industrial or economic espionage attempts.
The defense fault and protection service is compatible with armies and companies in the sector. Its motto, “Inform to protect” is the heart of its economic counterattack mission: “detect and neutralize any threat against national interests, national sovereignty and the scientific and technical potential of the nation,” says the service in place.
The first step is to make companies aware of security problems in particular subcontractors, but also companies whose commercial nucleus is not a defense. The DRSD also makes a presentation, a panorama of the various threats and details the techniques that can be used to recover information. Oriented and intrusive questions, falsely harmless or naive discussions, theft of professional or personal effects, trapped USB keys, “false gifts” … so many means against which it is necessary to protect themselves.
This can go through greater surveillance in the stand, filter tickets, vener without a computer, keep your phone permanently in itself, not respond with too precise data, have a “confidential” space for trade or even voluntarily modify models.
Adapt measures according to problems
For Aresia, which manufactures in particular the fuel tanks for the rafale, the problem is obviously different from that of a heavyweight in the sector, for example, Thales that produces high -tech electronic components.
However, the ETI is still cautious: “Our team is critical without being vital,” explains Philippe’s morals. With the advent of the computer of the computer and the contribution of artificial intelligence, it is possible to “gather weak signals to make a strong signal”: obtain information a priori, add it, cut it and thus obtain more precise information about technical performance, for example.
Throughout the show, the DRSD will monitor the grain. And he gave a very military, but essential instruction: inform about any event, even if it seems trivial, because it could be part of a larger plan.
Source: BFM TV
