Thales Cyber Summit

The critical importance of getting it right

Identity goes beyond authentication: it covers both the ability to verify that someone is who they claim to be in the digital world, and to identify individuals using biometric data. 

This includes securing remote identity verification against deepfakes and AI-generated content, as well as using biometric evidence, such as video footage or fingerprints, to support the identification of individuals during an investigation.

Preparing today for tomorrow’s risks

As the quantum threat becomes more immediate, organisations need to act now to protect sensitive data. The risk of “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later” — where encrypted data is collected today with the aim of decrypting it in the future using quantum computing — means organisations must start preparing now for the transition to post-quantum security. 

This requires both new encryption capabilities, such as Luna 8, Thales’ new hardware security module designed to protect critical data and applications, and solutions such as Cybels VPN, which enable public institutions to secure access to sensitive networks while maintaining control over their infrastructure.

Understanding risks and knowing how to defend against them

With the rise of autonomous AI agents, cybersecurity must now protect not only users and systems, but also the actions machines carry out on their behalf. This means ensuring trust in agent-led transactions through robust authentication, authorisation and control, while also governing what AI agents can access and do across the enterprise to maintain clear accountability. 

At the same time, AI is accelerating offensive capabilities, from reverse engineering to automated cyberattacks. Organisations therefore need to strengthen software protection, with solutions such as Sentinel Envelope+, and evolve their defences so they can respond at machine speed.

As attacks become increasingly automated, organisations need to strengthen their ability to detect, understand and block threats in real time. 

This means tackling malicious bots and AI-driven abuse, while also gaining greater control over data security: identifying sensitive information is no longer enough; organisations must be able to monitor it, detect breaches and act quickly to protect it. 

At the same time, authentication needs to evolve to withstand phishing attacks, with approaches such as FIDO and passkeys helping to secure accounts where passwords remain vulnerable.