Honorary President of Les Assises 2024 :
Paul Lemesle, Chief Information Security Officer, Lactalis Group

In this Olympic year, "Citius, Altius, Fortius" ("faster, higher, stronger") would have made an excellent theme for Assises 2024. But a new addition to this mythical trio - and in my mind - is "Communiter", which has been translated into the Olympic motto as "together".

If "Taking the high road" was our mantra in 2023, the term "together" came up a lot during this edition. Maria reminded us at the opening ceremony that "we owe it to ourselves to work together", and Vincent Strubel added by urging us to "work more than ever in networks". It's a reality: together, we can face up to a threat that, having become systemic, requires us to collaborate more widely. And when it comes down to it, working together, sharing, coming together - that's the very raison d'être of the Assises.

Les Assises 2024: Together!

Together! We can explore the precious link that exists between the army and the nation, discover the pool of skills represented by military personnel undergoing retraining or the role of the Gendarmerie in supporting the local economic fabric.

Together! We need to work more closely with the business community... it's a cultural revolution that awaits them as they become legally responsible for cybersecurity. How can we anchor this awareness? By involving professional associations (Medef, etc.)? By fully integrating this dimension into the training courses for future managers (business schools, MBAs)?

Together! We are building a cyber confidence that can be anchored in NIS 2 and regulatory developments. Our service providers need to mature, and it's up to us to help them do that! To do this, we need to ask ourselves what the keys to trust are (questionnaires, certification, labels, etc.).

Together! Let's set our sights on sectoral cooperation, drawing inspiration from existing successes such as the first sectoral Cert/SOCs and the highly effective fight against fraud in the banking sector.

Together! Let's be pragmatic... transposing NIS 2 means scaling up (a challenge imposed by the threat - targeted, societal), getting the "little guys" on board (SMEs, hospitals, local authorities), preparing for the big night (simultaneous attacks)... in short, being cyber-resilient.

Together! Let's show solidarity in the face of attacks, let's get involved in the Cyber Solidarity Act... let's share between companies in the same sector, let's rely on service providers like a nature reserve. Let's make the most of existing initiatives!

Together! Let's educate solution providers to include security as a default in their offerings, and not as an optional extra.

Together! Let's help to raise awareness among a wider audience than those we usually target, especially young people. Les As du Web, Cybervengers, Le Guide de la Sécurité Numérique des Dirigeants... we need to promote these virtuous initiatives for ourselves and for the general public.

Together! Let's debrief these 16 days of the 2024 Olympics, which will have taken us to a new level: operational preparation, training, climbing, requisitioning, teamwork... together, faster, higher, stronger.

I wish us a supportive and inspiring 2024 edition of Les Assises!