France Launches a Cyber Warfare Division

France has announced its first cyber-warfare army unit, aimed at increasing the country's hacking skills as concerns grow in Europe and the United States about Russian capabilities.

Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (pictured) likened the impact of hacking on warfare to the effect of the first aircraft on conflicts in the early 20th century.

"The emergence of a new area, a new cyber-battlefield, must make us rethink profoundly our way of approaching the art of war," Le Drian said as he unveiled a new doctrine for the army in northwest France. 

Le Drian said that under the new approach a cyberattack could constitute an act of war, which would require an appropriate response from a new specialised unit known as Cybercom.

If hackers were identified as coming from a country that had failed to stop them, "the responsibility of this state could be called into question," he said.

"Our offensive cyber-capabilities must allow us to breach the systems and networks of our enemies to cause damage, service suspensions or temporary or definitive neutralisations," he added.

The new French force will also work to identify foreign hackers and help identify weaknesses in important military IT networks, such as those used to pilot drones. 

France's announcement mirrors, plans drawn up by Britain, which recently launched a new cyber-defence plan backed by 2.1 billion euros ($2.2 billion) of funding.

The French unit will begin and a team of up to 2,600 specialists will be created by 2019, Le Drian said.

As well as attacks on infrastructure or sensitive government computer networks, intelligence agencies are increasingly worried about the ability of hackers to spread propaganda or misinformation. 

American media reported recently that the CIA had concluded that Russia sought to influence the US election in favour of Donald Trump by hacking the Democratic National Committee's emails.

US Vice President Joe Biden has hinted that the US could make use of its newly enhanced digital arsenal after saying in October that Russia would be sent a message "at the time of our choosing".

The allegations of Russian involvement were denied by Moscow, Trump's camp and by WikiLeaks, which leaked embarrassing emails related to Trump's Democrat challenger Hillary Clinton during the campaign.

The US concerns are shared in many western European nations, particularly in the Baltic countries bordering Russia. Allegations of state involvement in hacking have not been restricted to Russia.

The United States and Israel are thought to have been behind the Stuxnet worm that sabotaged Iran's nuclear infrastructure in 2010, but the famous cyberattack has never been claimed.

Russia has said that it had uncovered plans by foreign intelligence services to carry out massive cyber-attacks targeting the country's financial system.

Ein News:          A Peek Into French Signals Intelligence:       France Creates A Big Brother Data File:
 

« The Snowden Films - Spirit of the Whistleblower
Cyber Attacks Are Growing Ever More Sophisticated »

Infosecurity Europe
CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

Directory of Cyber Security Suppliers

Directory of Cyber Security Suppliers

Our Supplier Directory lists 7,000+ specialist cyber security service providers in 128 countries worldwide. IS YOUR ORGANISATION LISTED?

ManageEngine

ManageEngine

As the IT management division of Zoho Corporation, ManageEngine prioritizes flexible solutions that work for all businesses, regardless of size or budget.

Infosecurity Europe, 3-5 June 2025, ExCel London

Infosecurity Europe, 3-5 June 2025, ExCel London

This year, Infosecurity Europe marks 30 years of bringing the global cybersecurity community together to further our joint mission of Building a Safer Cyber World.

BackupVault

BackupVault

BackupVault is a leading provider of automatic cloud backup and critical data protection against ransomware, insider attacks and hackers for businesses and organisations worldwide.

Resecurity

Resecurity

Resecurity is a cybersecurity company that delivers a unified platform for endpoint protection, risk management, and cyber threat intelligence.

Redjack

Redjack

Redjack is a cutting-edge network analytics company focused on enterprise and ISP security and intelligence solutions.

VigiTrust

VigiTrust

VigiTrust is a security firm specializing in cloud based eLearning programs, security compliance portals and providing security assessments.

Nullcon

Nullcon

Nullcon provides an integrated platform for exchanging information on the latest attack vectors, zero-day vulnerabilities and unknown threats.

ICTSecurity Portal

ICTSecurity Portal

The ICTSecurity Portal is an interministerial initiative in cooperation with the Austrian economy and acts as a central internet portal for topics related to security in the digital world.

Ultratec

Ultratec

Ultratec provide a range of data centric services and solutions including data recovery, data erasure, data destruction and full IT Asset Disposal (ITAD).

Trust Stamp

Trust Stamp

Trust Stamp provide Identity and Trust as a Service to answer two fundamental questions: “Who are you?” and “Do I trust you?"

Bolster

Bolster

Bolster (formerly RedMarlin) is an AI-based cyber-security platform designed to detect phishing and fraudulent sites in real-time.

National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) - Vietnam

National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) - Vietnam

National Cyber Security Center of Vietnam has a central monitoring function and is a technical focal point for monitoring and supporting information security for people, businesses and systems.

LockLizard

LockLizard

Locklizard provides PDF DRM software that protects PDF documents from unauthorized access and misuse. Share and sell documents securely - prevent document leakage, sharing and piracy.

Winmill Software

Winmill Software

Winmill is a technology services company that provides expert consulting services in Application Development, Application Security and Cyber Security.

Bittnet Training

Bittnet Training

Bittnet Training is the leader in the IT Training market in Romania. We develop the IT skills of IT professionals as well as those who wish to start a career in IT.

VMware

VMware

VMware is a leading provider of multi-cloud services for all apps, enabling digital innovation with enterprise control.

Northdoor

Northdoor

Northdoor provides a comprehensive set of services around information security and works with leading global technology vendors to deploy and manage cyber security solutions.

Focus Digitech

Focus Digitech

Focus Digitech helps you with your digital transformation journey with our main core offerings of Cloud, Cybersecurity, Analytics and DevOps.

Logiq Consulting

Logiq Consulting

Logiq Consulting provide a full range of Cyber Security, Information Assurance and System Engineering services.

Jersey Cyber Security Centre (JCSC)

Jersey Cyber Security Centre (JCSC)

Jersey Cyber Security Centre is the jurisdiction's Cyber Emergency Response Team (CERT) and national technical authority for cyber security.