[Article mis à jour le 28 février 2024 à 16h47] The theft of security plans for the 2024 Olympics which occurred on Monday on a train in Paris raises questions. The documents contained in the stolen USB drives and computers could pose a threat to national security, irritating the cyber community.
An engineer from Paris town hall who was preparing to change trains on Monday evening at Gare du Nord filed a complaint for the theft of a departing bag placed above his seat. It contained a laptop as well as two USB sticks, which stored security plans for the Parisian municipal police for the Paris Olympics, which will begin in 149 days. The president and CEO of the company UBCOM, Frans Imbert-Vier, specializing in the cyber protection of businesses, deplores the grotesque and above all dangerous aspect of the situation.
Update :
The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed on Wednesday that the stolen USB key which stored documents directly linked to the Paris Olympics ” only contained notes related to traffic in Paris during the Olympic Games and not on sensitive security devices “. A sign of the tensions surrounding the affair, the Paris town hall took the trouble to carry out “ resets required ”, to avoid any intrusion into its computer system.
A theft of documents which is not without risk for the security of the Paris Games
“ The theft of the Olympic security plans from the Paris town hall is the most improbable incident possible, combined with a series of staggering errors and undoubtedly revealing a deficiency which could prove fatal. », plagues Frans Imbert-Vier. According to him, the first problem in all this is the reaction following the theft.
The manager believes that given the sensitivity of the elements stored in the USB keys and the computer, “ the Security manager and legal department of Paris town hall should not have notified the police and filed a complaint “. Because yes, the complaint not only made it possible to make public the disappearance of the elements, but “ It turns out that the thief probably didn’t know what he had just taken. Now he probably knows », adds the manager.
In reality, the Paris town hall should first have alerted the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), which would have made sure not to make the matter public. The DGSI could have “ initiate an investigation worthy of the challenge », according to Frans Imbert-Vier.
Does everything have to be redone for the security of the Paris Olympics?
Some of you were able to rightly point this out in the comments under our first article. So what was sensitive information doing on a USB stick? The CEO of UBCOM wonders this too. “ What is still surprising is that in 2024, we will be able to extract information that should have a “Defense Secret” classification on a USB key and outside of a site and without being encrypted. »
The specialist believes that the employee of the Paris town hall has undoubtedly not been trained or made aware of these risks, and can only deplore the absurdity of the situation. “ This denotes the level of administration facing the challenges of strategic and tactical data, a typical characteristic of the data in question. », answers Frans Imbert-Vier. But be careful, one clarification is necessary: the first key, which contained the security plans, was well encrypted. The second, which did not contain anything sensitive, was not, as the police headquarters clarified. So what to do now?
Less than five months before the start of the Paris Games, already under a strong threat of computer attacks, the consequences could be numerous. “ If the nature of the information turns out to be correct, then Paris town hall has 4 months to rethink everything », Reacts the expert, who doesn’t beat around the bush. The countdown won’t stop ticking.
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