Making people and data secure: Thales and the “Hexagone Balard”
The French Ministry of Defence has entrusted Thales with the security of its new headquarters, the Hexagone Balard. The adopted solution provides a high level of security for people and data, in continuity and in compliance with operational constraints.
A large-scale government site protection project
The Hexagone Balard project, sometimes called the "French Pentagon", was designed in 2007 and commissioned in 2015 to bring together all National Defence staff services on a single site. Thanks to its experience in military and government site protection, Thales has been a partner from the very beginning of construction, and has been entrusted with the safety of people and data in the buildings for the next 30 years.
The site’s extent, the diversity of information systems, the complexity of access levels were some of the challenges that had to be overcome.
A unified solution for a 24/24, comprehensive security
To ensure this military site’s protection, Thales has reached for its full range of expertise:
- Smart video surveillance and intrusion detection system;
- Access control system, monitoring access to the different zones according to accreditation levels;
- Smart data processing;
- Two secure control rooms centralizing data with a maximum level of confidentiality, ensuring a continuous protection.
The project’s success was also based on Thales's ability to migrate former systems towards the new one, and to integrate all tools mobilized. The Hexagone now can boast of an optimal and comprehensive level of security for people, infrastructure and data, 24 hours a day and over the long term.