A/74/120
The strategic review of cyberdefence,4 presented in February 2018, establishes
a doctrine for cybercrisis management and clarifies the national strategic objectives
of cyberdefence. As a demonstration of the relevance of the French model and the
primary responsibility of the State for cybersecurity, the review is structured around
seven main principles:
• improving the protection of information systems in our country;
• fending off attacks through a set of defensive measures, strengthened resilience
and capacity to react and respond;
• the affirmation and exercise of digital sovereignty in France;
• a more effective criminal justice response to cybercrime;
• the promotion of a shared culture of information security;
• participation in the development of a secure and trusted digital Europe;
• international action for collective governance and control of cyberspace.
The military programming law for 2019–2025 5 provides, in continuity with
previous legislation, a significant increase in the resources allocated to cyberdefence,
particularly in terms of staff. It contains a recruitment target o f 1500 additional
personnel, aiming to increase the number of personnel deployed to address these
issues within the Ministry of the Armed Forces to 4000 by 2025.
The following actors contribute to the effectiveness of the technical and
operational strategy in France:
• The national agency for information systems security is responsible for
prevention (including through normative action) of information technology
incidents that target the Government and essential operators, and for response
to such incidents. It now employs 600 people and continues to grow. It has
established itself as the focal point for the definition of relevant cybersecurity
standards.
• The Ministry of the Armed Forces has the dual mandate to ensure the protection
of networks that safeguard its activities and to integrate operations in cyberspace
into military action. In order to consolidate the efforts of the Ministry in this
area, a general commanding officer for cyberdefence, under the command of the
Chief of Staff of the armed forces, was appointed in September 2017. In this
connection, the Ministry of the Armed Forces issued a defensive policy to
combat cybercrime at the beginning of 2019; at the same time, an initial public
statement of the doctrine on the offensive fight agains t cybercrime for milit ary
operations was presented by the Chief of Staff of the armed forces.
• The mission of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice is to
combat all forms of cybercrime, targeting institutions and national interests,
economic actors and public authorities as much as private individuals.
(b)
Promotion of international cooperation for the stability and security
of cyberspace
Strengthening strategic stability and international security in cyberspace is a
priority objective for France. As the strategic review of cyberdefence states,
“cooperation within the international community in cyberspace is an effective way to
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4
5
18/39
Available at www.sgdsn.go uv.fr/uploads/2018/02/20180206-np-revue-cyber-public-v3.3publication.pdf.
Available at www.legifrance. gouv.fr /eli/loi/2018/7/13/ARMX1800503L/jo/texte.
19-10580
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