Thales to provide secure Internet access for French government network

Thales has been selected by the French Prime Minister's Office to deliver and deploy service platforms offering highly secure Internet connections for the 900,000 future users of the French government's interministerial network (Réseau Interministériel de l'État – RIE). Thales will build the IT solution and provide managed services as well as 24/7 network supervision.

Key points

• Thales to provide the French government with expertise in secure resilient networks, IT services and cybersecurity.
• Customisable security base across the entire interministerial network.
• Thales to ensure network flexibility, availability and resilience for 900,000 users. 

Rollout of the new RIE network is part of a broader programme of government reform. The growing array of threats to information system security was highlighted in the 2012 Bockel Report and is identified as a priority in France's defence spending plan. A radical change to information and communication infrastructures and the way they are managed is now considered more crucial than ever. Particular attention is being paid to securing network access to ensure the resilience of government networks in an increasingly hostile environment.

Thales will progressively implement secure access platforms as each ministerial site joins up to the RIE network. 200 000 users will be  connected as of early 2015.

Thales will implement an innovative solution, based on a proven architecture and latest-generation data security components, to ensure the necessary levels of network flexibility, availability and resilience against cyberattacks.

The service platforms will enable government users to filter all user data streams to and from the Internet, including web browsing, file transfers and incoming and outgoing email.

Thales already supplies network access platforms for enterprise customers, essential operators, the French defence procurement agency (DGA) and the French Ministry of Justice.

Under this latest contract, the Thales solution will ensure a standardised level of security across the entire RIE interministerial network, tailored for each government entity.

More on the Thales cybersecurity approach