Le Groupe La Poste launches trials with Thales to determine optimum response to new cybersecurity legislation
Le Groupe La Poste and Thales today announced the start of a 12-month trial aimed at improving implementation of the measures enacted in France's Military Programming Law (LPM) to heighten the security of the information systems deployed by critical infrastructure providers. In particular, the partnership will be an opportunity for La Poste to test Cybels Sensor, the trusted probe developed by Thales to ensure detection of cyberattacks.
Key Points
- Announce of a 12-month trial between Le Groupe La Poste and Thales aiming at improving the implementation of the cybersecurity measures enacted in France's Military Programming Law
- Thales will provide Le Groupe La Poste with its trusted probe, a modular solution designed to detect cyberattacks and recognise zero-day attacks
- Le Groupe La Poste will offer services of security incident detection providers and security incident response providers who will interact through Thales's Cyber Threat Intelligence platform
Through this partnership, which is the first of its kind, Le Groupe La Poste and Thales have agreed to conduct real-life tests aimed at enhancing cybersecurity products and services in order to guarantee the high levels of cyberattack detection and response performance required by the LPM.
The agreement has three objectives: to test deployment and interactions between different cybersecurity products and services; to validate the operational processes in place to ensure that stakeholders communicate and share threat intelligence effectively, and to improve the operational efficiency of both products and services.
With more than 40 years of cybersecurity expertise, Thales will provide Le Groupe La Poste with its Cybels Sensor trusted probe, a modular solution designed to detect cyberattacks on IT systems, in particular those deployed by Critical National Infrastructure Providers, which are subject to heightened security requirements. To further improve detection performance, the probe uses artificial intelligence algorithms capable of recognising zero-day attacks, and is also supported by a Cyber Threat Intelligence service. The solution will be tested with particularly high data rates (10 Gbps) via La Poste's innovative PASIv2 Internet access platform.
“By sharing expertise, our partnership with Thales is an opportunity for La Poste to fine-tune its LPM compliance programme and accelerate deployment of its cybercrime prevention policy”
Philippe Bajou, General Secretary and Executive Vice President of Le Groupe La Poste
As part of the measures being implemented to ensure its own compliance with the LPM, Le Groupe La Poste, through its internal cybersecurity teams, will offer the services of security incident detection providers (PDIS) and security incident response providers (PRIS), who will be able to interact and share information about threats using Thales's Cyber Threat Intelligence platform.
By sharing their resources, expertise and services, Thales and La Poste are the first players in France to test the theoretical basis of the LPM requirements in real-life situations and to conduct operational evaluations of related services and solutions with a view to improving the quality and efficiency of cyberattack detection.
“The trial is the first of its kind in the sector, and the outcomes of this partnership will be of benefit to all Critical National Infrastructure Providers. Our cooperation with Le Groupe La Poste is a further illustration of our commitment to provide the best cybersecurity solutions, which are a key enabler of our customers' digital transformation in line with the requirements of the French defence spending plan.”
Marc Darmon, Thales Executive Vice President, Secure Communications and Information Systems
Wholly owned by public shareholders, Le Groupe La Poste is a limited company structured around five business units: Services-Mail-Parcels, La Banque Postale, La Poste Network, GeoPost, and Digital Services. The Group operates in 40 countries on 4 continents. La Poste's 17,000 retail outlets make it France's leading local business network, serving 1.6 million customers every day. La Poste delivers 23.265 billion items worldwide per year (letters, printed advertising media and parcels), 6 days a week. In 2016, the Group generated €23.294 billion in revenues (22.4% out of France) and had more than 250,000 employees. Closer to its customers and more connected, La Poste is stepping up its digital transformation by offering a range of services hinging on its role as universal operator for exchanges. In its strategic plan "La Poste 2020: Conquering the future", Le Groupe La Poste has set itself the ambitious objective of speeding up development in its five core businesses and conquering new territories. Accessible to everyone, everywhere, every day, La Poste puts human considerations and trust at the heart of customer relations to become the leading company for local services on a human scale.