Anssi reviews cyber threats 

Espionage, ransomware and destabilization kept agency busy in 2023.

On February 27, 2024, Anssi published its yearly report, the 2023 Cyber Threat Review, which takes stock of the agency’s activity over the previous year. The report reveals an uptick in cyber threats, particularly in terms of espionage, ransomware and destabilization.

The report shows that, in 2023, espionage remained at “high levels”, “with a significant increase in the targeting of individuals and non-government bodies that create, host, or transfer sensitive data.” In particular, the agency points to a strong increase in espionage techniques tied “to the Russian government.”

“State actors with ties to Russia are back. We have observed infiltrations of critical infrastructure, without specific subsequent actions. They behave like spies, do nothing, except make sure that they are still up and running. They are poised to strike, awaiting orders,” explains Vincent Strubel, head of Anssi. Moreover, the problem goes beyond France and Russia, as Anssi is more generally concerned with “prepositioning activity targeting various critical infrastructure across Europe, North America and Asia.”

In 2023, there was also a 30% increase in ransomware attacks reported to the agency, in stark contrast with the drop in 2022. Anssi also noted “new destabilization operations mainly aimed at promoting political discourse, impeding access to online content, or damaging an organization’s reputation.” On the last front, 2023 saw a number of DDoS attacks against French targets, often led by pro-Russian groups.