France/Pont-l'Evêque: Gendarmes train elected officials against cybercrime, a first in France

Published on 03/10/2022 | La rédaction

France

Small communities are not immune to the risks of cyber attacks. Elected officials are now being made aware of the risks by the Calvados gendarmes, a unique training program in France.

Nobody is infallible on the Internet, but "it is not a fatality". After the incivilities with the GIGN last year, the gendarmes of the Deauville company and the operational service of cybercrime of Caen trained the elected representatives of the territory incybercrime department of Caen trained the elected officials of the territory in cyber security this Wednesday in Saint-Hymer (Calvados). A local initiative, "the department is a pilot" in this area.

Vulnerable communities

In an increasingly connected world, the number of complaints and victims of cyberattacks are growing. And communities do not escape. "There can be targeted attacks, or clustered attacks, that small town halls can fall victim to. One might think that they are not interested and yet", explains Warrant Officer Olivier Coutant of the section. Unlike metropolises or large companies, small communities do not have a dedicated IT department and are particularly vulnerable. "They can feel left to their own devices. We are therefore there to give them a simple toolbox of actions to implement and traps to avoid, in order to anticipate, react and minimize these attacks," summarizes Denis Lansel, commander of the Deauville company.

The threats are diverse: fake websites, fake transfer or order orders, phishing, fraudulent donations... "These attacks can have direct consequences, such as the theft of dataThese attacks can have direct consequences, such as the theft of data or the interruption of administrative services, or indirect consequences such as financial costs or damage to image and reputation," he continues.

"Whatever happens, communities will one day be the victim of a cyber attack attempt, and we are here to prepare them for it. "

Warrant Officer Coutant

A training course unique in France

This training course, " unique in France ", is the initiative of the Calvados Gendarmerie, in partnership with the Calvados Mayors' Association. "It is the result of the work of citizen reservists, talented people who join the gendarmerie for their skills, and soldiers from the cybercrime group of the research section, and led by the new technologies correspondents trained to provide this training," says the commander. All of them are part of the cybergend network, a chain of fight against cybercrime. "Victims must file a complaint at the local level, but the investigation is supported at all levels, departmental, regional see national, depending on the scale of the attack. "

The launch of this operation to raise awareness among elected officials in the 85 communes of the company is complementary to the cyber pre-diagnosis, offered by the gendarmes. "Since July, we have been intervening in the town halls to draw up an inventory of their community's security, from alarms to servers and passwords," explains Adjutant Coutant. At the end of the training, the elected officials left with documents gathering these basic rules to have the most optimal computer protection, where they can pick and choose.

Source: actu.fr/


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