After nearly nine years at the head of the National Information Systems Security Agency (Anssi), Guillaume Poupard will leave his post by December 31. His departure was expected this summer in the wake of the presidential election, but he will ultimately remain in office for a few more months. It must be said that this cryptography specialist has become the face of the fight against online attacks since his appointment in 2014. However, the latter have multiplied, targeting for example TV5 Monde in 2015, the emails of the campaign team Emmanuel Macron in 2017, WannaCry, NotPetya, even the very recent offensive against the hospital center of Versailles.
After taking stock of its action last June in an interview with echoesspecifying in passing that he had “candidate for functions in the world of the public”it was through a message published on Friday, December 2 on LinkedIn that he announced his departure.
During his two terms at the head of the agency, France’s cybersecurity strategy has been expanded, in particular with the presentation in 2021 by Emmanuel Macron of a national plan of one billion euros to accelerate the development of the sector. A rise in power which materialized this year with the inauguration of the Campus Cyber, erected like the “cybersecurity totem in France” by the government.
From Anssi to DGSE?
Guillaume Poupard leaves an agency that has grown considerably under his leadership, bringing together 400 agents on his arrival and now 675 to fight against cybercrime on French territory. Guillaume Poupard also largely contributed to the media influence of the organization, much more discreet in the time of his predecessor, Patrick Pailloux.
The latter, today technical director of the Directorate General for External Security (DGSE), could once again give up his place to Guillaume Poupard in 2023. On the other hand, no name has yet filtered to lead the So. The selected profile will have a hard time dealing with the explosion of cyberattacks and ransomware that jeopardize the sovereignty of the State. “Experts, passionate, demanding, committed…: they are simply wonderful, really. It is in our common interest to protect them from administrative stupidity and to give them the means for their action in the long term”wrote Guillaume Poupard on LinkedIn, as an appeal to the government.