“The international community must work together to develop the technological standards of tomorrow”

Tribune. As technology grows in our societies, cyber defense has become a matter of sovereignty for most states, as the recent Pegasus scandal proved. Those who cannot afford to compete with the most powerful nations militarily or economically strengthen their cyber attack capabilities. Already, most international tensions and conflicts are manifested in cyberspace as well. And that’s just the beginning.

This rise in power does not date from yesterday. Many states have attempted to extract technological, military or strategic intelligence from a wide range of actors since the 1990s. Almost thirty years later, more than a hundred groups are engaged in these operations. in addition to sophisticated intrusion software being made available free of charge to the general public. A thriving market has developed around offensive computer warfare, with some companies even providing mercenary-worthy software or services.

Faced with these threats, no state has the capacity to prevent cyber attacks, whether they target it directly or not. In order to limit the risks of cyber espionage, the international community must work together to develop the technological standards of tomorrow. The competition that is raging between states to capture the next technological advances could lead to a fragmentation of the digital space. If bilateral agreements work for now, it is imperative to train a number of specialists to enable the private sector to defend itself effectively against the same threats.

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In addition, foreign companies, in particular those which develop network equipment or process sensitive data, will have to agree to submit to rigorous controls to inspire total confidence (free access to source code, audits carried out by trusted third parties, proof of software certificates, etc.). Companies applying for public contracts in the digital domain will have to comply with even stricter conditions.

North Korea imitated

Because conflicts in the virtual world have consequences in the real world. The vast majority of our activities now rely on information technology. Let us cite the example of Stuxnet or the wave of destructive attacks Shamoon, to illustrate the extent of the damage that can be caused.

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