Exacerbated by the arrival of the Paris Olympic Games, the cyber threat weighs more and more on France, warns the National Agency for Information Systems Security (ANSSI).
Responsible for the protection of the 350 entities linked to the Olympic Games, including 80 critics, the ANSSI published this Tuesday its overview of the cyber threat in 2023. Its observation sends chills down the spine, with for example a 30% increase in ransomware compared to 2022. The trend is expected to worsen further during the year, with the Agency fearing that cybercriminals will take advantage of the Olympics. to monitor or extort organizers and participants ” And ” tarnish the image of the host country, or even disrupt the proceedings ” of the event.
A variety of cyberattacks
“ A worrying panorama, both in terms of the increase in the number of cyberattacks and their variety: espionage which remains a reality more than ever, organized crime which is taking shape, sabotage… », deplores Vincent Strubel, general director of ANSSI, in an interview given to West France.
Spying on targeted individuals via smartphone intrusion tools particularly alerts the Agency. “ Some companies provide highly sophisticated malicious code (…) to companies and individuals with malicious intentions “, she denounces. Reporting “ tens » attacks of this type, ANSSI specifies that they mainly target “ senior executives “.
Think tanks, research institutes and telecommunications companies are among the main targets. “ Strategic and industrial espionage is the threat that has mobilized our teams the most », Indicates ANSSI.
A “ major challenge »
Another worrying fact is that the Agency observed potential activities of “ prepositioning » in the energy sector. They result in attempts to discreetly take control of a network in order to shut it down or destroy it. A ” major challenge », according to Vincent Strubel, who also wants to be reassuring: “ We have armed ourselves to be able to respond to this type of emerging threat “.
In this context, the Olympic Games will act as “ full-scale test » for the competent authorities. The event will offer “ additional opportunities to act » to hackers, thus constituting “ a target for all types of cyberattacks “.
Sources: BFMTV, West France
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