2,600 experts to work on protecting France from hackers

Dec 13, 2016 10:38 GMT  ·  By
France says its hackers must be able to breach military systems of other countries
   France says its hackers must be able to breach military systems of other countries

France is the latest country that forms a cyber-army whose purpose is to fight against foreign hackers, with Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian explaining that operations of this new unit would begin as soon as next month.

Le Drian pointed out that France needs a dedicated team of researchers to deal with cyberattacks, aiming to employ no less than 2,600 experts by 2019 as part of a cyber-defense plan worth 2.1 billion euros ($2.2 billion).

“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 was quoted as saying.

Going after foreign hackers

France, however, is aiming well beyond the typical protection against hackers plan, as Le Drian clearly stated that the country’s cyber-army, which will be called Cybercom, will be able to attack other countries and breach their systems should they get involved in a digital war.

“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 said, adding that any countries launching cyberattacks against France would be treated as enemies. “The responsibility of this state could be called into question,” he continued.

Furthermore, Cybercom engineers will be specifically trained to go after foreign hackers and find their identities, but also to breach military networks of other states and access systems that could be otherwise used against the country.

France is the latest state that decides to invest billions of euros in cybersecurity, as the international tension fueled by hacking claims issued by the United States and Russia continue growing.

After the United States blamed Russia for launching attacks aimed at disrupting the presidential campaign, Russia itself claimed it blocked an attack launched by a foreign intelligence service that was supposed to take down its financial services by taking down systems owned by the largest banks in the country.