The threat level has never been so high for French defense companies: between 500 and 550 damage per year, more than 750 economic security alerts in 2024, twice in 2020, more and more sophisticated cyber attacks … The observation is alarming. “France faces an unprecedented intensification of the economic war,” warns Deputy Christophe Passard, author of an information report presented in mid -July to the Finance Committee of the National Assembly.
“Protein” threats
The threats for French defense companies are “proteifecta”. According to the information report, one third of the “hostile actions” are related to espionage, the recruitments directed, the internal indiscretions. Physical attacks (intrusion, sabotage), “almost duplicate”, in a year, indicates Christophe Plasssard. As for cyber attacks, they “exploit” and show an increase of more than 15% in a year, or more than 4,000 security incidents listed by the National Information Systems Agency (ANSSI) in 2024.
Other types of threats, the report also lists capital attacks: financially fragile companies that can be subject to hostile acquisition or benefit of foreign investments that are probably faced with national interests. As for influence campaigns, reputation attacks or boycott calls, they are often carried out at a distance and aim to destroy the company’s reputation or block export contracts. The specific report that around a third of the attacks refer to the aeronautical and spatial sectors.
He also recalls that part of the vulnerability of BitD companies is linked to the dependence of specific materials and components and that Europe depends “more than 90%” on external supply sources for certain critical raw materials such as titanium, rare earth, cobalt or nickel, but also standard electronic pieces, which are essential for the production of military equipment.
The case of the American “law”
The report also indicates the danger of American “law”, the strategic use of the law, a concept qualified as “a real weapon to promote US companies to the detriment of their competitors.” The “Itar” regulations, the patriotic law and the cloud law are three emblematic examples of American power for disadvantages of competition in industrial affairs. The “Itar” rule, for international traffic in weapons regulation, applies to any war material that integrates an American component, subject to export or re restrictions, without express authorization.
The Patriot Law (adopted in 2001) and the Cloud Law (2018) strengthen US media access to potentially confidential data, which allows the FBI to demand the transmission of data even to companies located outside the United States. This is one of the risks that are indicated during the implementation of services such as Microsoft within the defense companies or even the Ministry of the Armed Forces. Recently, it is migration to Microsoft from the École Polytechnic that has been controversial, The letter evoking the dangers linked to US extraterritorial laws for the protection of confidential data.
Economic enemies … sometimes strategic allies
If China or Russia are the first names of the countries that come to mind when we talk about economic adversaries, the danger can also come from “friends” countries. Therefore, the United States, an allied country in France in a strategic and military plan, is at the same time a serious competitor at the economic level.
In this sense, the report emphasizes the American “law”, aimed at protecting the strategic interests of national companies.
SMEs are the most vulnerable
In fact, it is SMEs, ETIS and new companies that concentrate more than 80% of damaged damage. And in particular, companies considered “criticism”, that is, those without which the production of weapons systems cannot be guaranteed. In total, the Department of Defense Companies of the General Directorate of Armament (DGA) is around 1,000 the number of companies “for which a failure would have a great impact on weapons programs.”
It can be a company that produces an absolutely key printed circuit, an eti whose defense activity is not the main source of billing and that faces financial difficulties, a company that manufactures specific mechanical pieces … The DGA in particular in the BFM business.
To protect these companies, the DGA has implemented a specific support system to minimize the risk of damage, whether physical or digital.
Priority sites
Advises in its report the implementation of “more offensive maneuvers”: “We cannot be happy to submit permanently, it is necessary to be proactive.”
Among the 16 recommendations issued, the deputy recommends, among other things, the increase in human and budgetary resources of the main services responsible for the protection of strategic entities, the implementation of a “ITAR” rule at European scale or the strengthening of the protection of research organizations. During the presentation of the report, Christophe Plasssard concluded his comments evoking “a call to collective, lucid and determined mobilization.”
Source: BFM TV
