“Rather than waiting to see how an adversary might do it, it’s better to do it ourselves.”
During a visit to the ANTS*, Sébastien Lecornu conveyed the message: the State must stress-test its vulnerabilities. Security services have received instructions to that effect.
To accompany the initiative, progress will be made on AI applied to testing and detection. This topic “calls for discussions on European strategic autonomy,” the Prime Minister reminded. “I have asked for real crisis scenarios, digital blackouts,” he added, “including if a U.S. administration decided to deprive us of tools.”
DINUM and DITP, a merger project that raises questions
Sébastien Lecornu wants by 2027 for every ministry to dedicate 5% of its digital budgets to cybersecurity. It will be necessary to clearly define each one’s role: what depends on a dedicated investment, and what the State must cover?
Another horizon to 2027 is the creation of a fund to modernize State infrastructure. It will be fed by all CNIL fines (around €500 million in 2025). This reform will be carried within the framework of the next finance bill.
More immediately (this week, in fact), there is the unlocking of €200 million to “invest in applications, detection tools and post-quantum cryptography.” An envelope drawn from France 2030 funds.
We are also moving toward a merger of the DITP (Interministerial Directorate for Public Sector Transformation) and the DINUM (Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs).
A move that leaves Gilles Babinet wary. One may wonder how the expertise of one agency would strengthen the other, says the entrepreneur and member of the National Council for AI and Digital. The DITP “includes experts in organization, transformation, designers, project managers, senior officials, but no cybersecurity specialists,” he notes. In response, it is pointed out, among other things, that a merger between DINUM and ANSSI might have been more logical…
* In mid-April, the ANTS (National Agency for Secure Titles) suffered a cyberattack. The breach exposed nearly 12 million accounts containing personal data. A 15-year-old individual suspected of involvement was arrested.
