From June 7 to 9, the European cybersecurity ecosystem met in Lille. Silicon Luxembourg was there to attend the discussions on digital security issues against the backdrop of war in Ukraine and rising international tensions.
Every year for the past 14 years, the International Cybersecurity Forum (FIC) has brought together all the actors of the digital security ecosystem: civil society, end customers, researchers, solution and service providers, law enforcement agencies, civil and military authorities.
The 2022 edition welcomed some 14,000 visitors (+35% compared to 2021) and 550 exhibitors. Nearly 5,000 participants followed the show online.
Luxembourg Pavilion
Silicon Luxembourg was present during the 3 days of the event and attended the exchanges between professionals and institutions of the sector.
The Luxembourg pavilion CYBERSECURITY Luxembourg had five representatives, including SECURITYMADEINLU, eBrand, Excellium Services, Rsecure and the startup Passbolt.
This was an opportunity for Pascal Steichen, CEO, SECURITYMADEIN.LU and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the European Cybersecurity Competence Center to participate in a round table discussion on incident response strategies.
Pierre Franck, ambassador at the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs discussed sovereignty in the digital age.
It was also an opportunity for visitors to participate in a cyber attack simulation game (“ROOM #42”) proposed by the Luxembourg Cybersecurity Competence Center.
For around two hours players were completely immersed in a simulated cyber attack and had to react in real time and with minimal information.
Since the 2019 edition of the game, new destabilizing elements have been introduced in the scenarios to make the simulations even more realistic. The 5 senses and virtual reality are mobilized to create new situations and diversify the scenarios.
The way the team reacts, interacts and behaves influences the course of the simulation. The participants then received an in-depth report of their performance in order to improve their reflexes in terms of crisis management.
Vice-President @MargSchinas at the #EU pavilion, meeting the #ECCC and @_pst, our Chair of the Governing board pic.twitter.com/NtqqTysrLf
— European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (@Cybersec_ECCC) June 9, 2022
State Espionage
For Guillaume Poupard, the future ex-director general of the French National Agency for Information Systems Security (ANSSI), the French authority dedicated to the security and defense of information systems, state espionage is today the main threat and represents 80% of the agency’s work.
“Malicious actors do not weaken and mobilize daily the teams of the ANSSI: cybercriminals are attracted by the lure of gain or more sophisticated attackers, conducting campaigns of espionage or destabilization,” he insisted. “Every 11 seconds, a ransomware strikes an organization.
A Normative Power
Europe’s digital security was also one of the central themes of FIC 2022.
“Faced with a dual emergency, both operational and political, Europe must more than ever ensure the development of a safe and trusted digital space,” added Poupard.
Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition and Executive Vice President of the European Commission, highlighted “the progress of the latest regulations, including the Digital Market Act (DMA)” and “the importance for companies to be compliant with it by early 2023”.
She also announced the construction of a common platform for mutual assistance between member countries, which should see the light of day in 2023.
The Private Sector
The exhibition also highlighted the importance of the private sector and research in cybersecurity, through sector-specific events.
Such as CORIN (Conference on Incident Response and Digital Investigation), ID-KYC Forum (dedicated to digital identity), eCPF (e-Customer Protection Forum) or Cybersecurity For Industry (focused on operational technologies and industrial cybersecurity).
The International Cybersecurity Forum also hosted the first OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) & Cyberinvestigation Day dedicated to corporate safety and security, public protection, geopolitics and disinformation.
The FIC also hosted the European Cyber Cup (EC2), the first competition combining ethical hacking and eSports codes. During 48 hours, 180 professionals and students gathered to measure their technical know-how and their ability to manage multiple cyber issues, in teams in a playful and competitive mode.
Founded in 2010, Avisa Partners is a French business intelligence company with offices in Europe, the United States and Africa. Aiming for a €70 million turnover by 2022, it employs some 250 people.
The group is progressively building an operational platform, with international and technological projection capabilities, capable of strengthening the integrity of the rule of law, protecting populations, helping economic players to grow and participating in the reconstruction of a bond of trust between leaders, experts, citizens, users and consumers.
Meet us at @FIC_eu stand D7!@ebrandservices @ExcelliumSA @passbolt @EncryptEurope @circl @MISPProject @secin_lu & Rsecure!
Stop by our pavilion at 17:30 today for our Drink & Meet! pic.twitter.com/YE3L1PAeVm— CYBERSECURITY Luxembourg (@cyberluxembourg) June 7, 2022